Copper engraving by J Walker, mm 455x610, from “The Hydrography of Sicily, Malta, and Adjacent Islands: Survey in 1814, 1815, and 1816”. An Admiral and scientific writer, William Henry Smyth was one of the most influential of Admiralty surveyors of the period. From 1813 he served as Lieutenant with the Sicilian flotilla against the French in Naples, combining naval duties with his own surveying and antiquarian research. In September 1815 he was made Commander and continued carrying out his surveys along the coasts of Sicily, Italy and the opposite shores of Africa. From 1817 his role as surveyor became official and he produced a great number of important sea charts. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Astronomical Society, Smyth later went on to become one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society. Perfect condition.