Why it matters

Burney's account of his 1770 continental journey, first published in 1771, was the research travelogue behind his later General History of Music, and it remains a primary first-hand record of European musical life — opera houses, conservatories, performers — as an informed English listener found them. It is also read as an 18th-century travel narrative in its own right, and the Italian and French tours together shaped how later generations understood the period's musical culture. The photos suggest a link to H. L. Mencken: one image’s caption mentions a handwritten “To H.L. Mencken” dated March 19, 1930. Mencken was a serious amateur musician, so that would be a lovely provenance. But the seller doesn’t describe or document it, so treat it as unverified. The first edition at this price is good value even without it.

Why we're looking

A reportedly 1771 first edition in contemporary leather at US$460 with an eye-catching handwritten "To H.L. Mencken" note visible in the images is the kind of combination worth a look. On relative value I have to be straight: the one comparable first edition I found (Buddenbrooks, Inc. on AbeBooks, contemporary calf, internally very fine) displayed no price on the page I fetched, so whether $460 sits below the market for this edition is unconfirmed.

Watch out for

The seller states the leather is worn and creased and some leaves are yellowed, but gives no collation and explicitly does not state completeness — worth asking for a page count and a check against the collation a dealer copy of the first edition gives as vii, 396, [11] pp. The Mencken inscription is shown in photographs but the seller offers no provenance account, so treat the association as undocumented until the hand and the 1930 date can be examined properly. Confirm from the title page and imprint that this is the 1771 Becket issue rather than a later or reissued printing.