first edition Half Morocco
1840 · London
by [Henderson, Charles Cooper]
London: N. Calvert and Fores, 1840. First edition. Half Morocco. Very Good . Scarce coaching work, with a single copy appearing on OCLC First Search, at the Art Institute of Chicago. Oblong, 29 by 39 cm. 12 hand-colored etched plates, all captioned "Fore's Road Scrapings", and stating that they were drawn and etched by C.H.C. The coloring of the plates is especially rich, and the plates are very appealingly composed generally. They have two to seven separate illustrations, arranged in a collage manner so that some illustrations can be read as separate or together. The scenes depict coaching travel not just in England but also on the continent, with chalets on one plate, and Italian and Lowland peasants -- or so we believe -- shown in several of the plates. Peasants encountered figure repeatedly in the plates. Of particular interest is a plate depicting boxing matches, one between a black man and white man. As a totality the work can be viewed as something akin to a photo album of someone's travels. Front cover with a black and white etching of road workers. We find it curious, the publishing background of this scarce work, as the Chicago copy, and the other copy of which we are aware, are entitled "Fore's Road Scrapings". As the work is not in Abbey or Tooley, we can't explain how it is that Calvert is credited alongside Fores in our copy. Gloucester bookplate on FEP. Condition: a few abrasions of the leather surface on the binding. Some soiling of the paper pastedown on the boards. Plates are clean and stunningly bright.
(Inventory #: 006116)