"In 1816 Mauro Gandolfi, an accomplished painter and engraver from Bologna, set sail for New York, taking only his mistress, three trunks of clothes, and a case of engravings. His goals were to establish himself in the New World as a printmaker and to witness at first hand the workings of a democratic and secular society. This book publishes for the first time a transcription and translation of Gandolfi's vivid account of the customs, people, and quirks of behavior he encountered in New York, Philadelphia, and points between." "The book also includes some sixty illustrations, among them reproductions of Gandolfi's own work and contemporary views of the sites and monuments he describes in his original and engaging report on America."--BOOK JACKET.