1-157-382 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Eruption of Vesuvius, 1776. Ladies and gentlemen watching a lava flow running into the valley between Mount Somma and Vesuvius. These streams formed a cascade of fire more than 50 feet in height as they headed toward the town of Resina, near Naples. From Campi Phlegraei by William Hamilton. (Naples, 1776). Based on letters to the Royal Society, Hamilton's book is a seminal work on the nature and effects of volcanic explosions.