first edition Full Morocco
1821 and 1822 · London
by Thornton, Alfred
London: Thomas Kelly, 1821 and 1822. First Edition. Full Morocco. Near Fine. 8vo. 8.5 by 5.25 inches, 21 by 13.5 cm. x, 620, xii, 660 pp. With 31 hand-colored plates (15 in vol 1, 16 in vol 2) in the satiric style associated with Thomas Rowlandson or George Cruikshank. In its parody of Lord Byron, Volume One draws its inspiration from Mozart's and Lorenzo da Ponte's "Don Giovanni" almost as much as it does from Lord Byron's own "Don Juan", both of which are loose adaptations of the pre-existing Don Juan myth. Volume Two stands on its own, subtitled "Life in London, or, A True Picture of the British Metropolis". The impetus of this volume was the success of Pierce Egan's "Life in London", and so in this volume the wanderings and incidents of the Don Juan character throughout London is meant to poke light fun at the mores and social life of Regency London. Tooley 486. Abbey Life 323. Some occasional light finger soiling, and age toning around the margins. Otherwise clean and tight within. Typical rubbing along the joints. Faint darkening of the tooled spines.
(Inventory #: 006291)