George Cruikshank's Fairy Library. Cinderella and the Glass Slipper. Edited and illustrated with ten subjects, designed and etched on steel, by George Cruikshank

London: D. Bogue [&] George Routledge and Sons, 1854. Cinderella and Jack & The Bean-Stalk
Illustrated by George Cruikshank
Handsomely bound by Zaehnsdorf

CRUIKSHANK, George. George Cruikshank's Fairy Library. Cinderella and the Glass Slipper. Edited and illustrated with ten subjects, designed and etched on steel, by George Cruikshank. London: David Bogue, [1854]. & George Cruikshank's Fairy Library. The History of Jack & the Bean-Stalk. Edited and illustrated with six etchings by George Cruikshank. London: George Routledge and Sons, [ca 1870].

First edition of Cinderella and the Glass Slipper; Later edition (truncated) of The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk.

Small quarto (6 5/8 x 5 inches; 170 x 127 mm.). [1-5], 6-31, [1, blank]; [1-5], 6-32. Twelve etched plates with eighteen humorous scenes.

Bound by Zaehnsdorf ca. 1900 in full dark blue calf. Covers with triple-gilt borders and circular corner-pieces, spine with five raised bands, decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments, three red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt-ruled board edges, decorative gilt turn-ins, marbled end-papers, all edges gilt. Original front and rear green printed paper covers. Armorial bookplate of the celebrated Cruikshank collector, the Earl of Mexborough on front paste-down. A fine example.

George Cruikshank (1792-1878) was a popular English caricaturist who later became notable for his book illustrations. Some of his illustrated works include Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist (1838) and the first English translation of the Brothers Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Displaying remarkable craftsmanship and skill as an etcher, Cruikshank became a household name due to his humorous portrayals of the royal family, the church, the government, the humors of the low people, and the foibles of the great. This notoriety led to a successful period of book illustration.

"In the 1840s Cruikshank become an avid teetotaler and advocated for the Temperance Movement. This interest impacted his work and inspired him to write his own fireside tails detailing the perils of drinking. In 1854 Cruikshank produced a work called The Fairy Library in which he altered popular fairy tales to offer temperance lessons. Although the book did not sell well, the effort by the artist to provide lessons to his readers is not without precedent. Many tales have sought to teach amiable qualities and warn against unpleasant traits. Today his etchings continue to be placed among the work of the masters such as Ruskin." (Howard Tilton memorial Library).

The library of the Earl of Mexborough was sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge in February 1917 "Including a long series of works illustrated by the Cruikshanks (Inventory #: 05508)