SKETCHES ON THE MOSELLE, THE RHINE, AND THE MEUSE

London: Hodgson & Clark, 1838. FIRST EDITION. 560 x 380 mm. (22 x 15"). 1 p.l. (lithograph dedication and table of contents), [1] leaf (ads).
Apparently unrestored publisher's red quarter morocco over pink watered silk boards, flat spine, gilt titling on front cover and spine, marbled endpapers. WITH 30 VERY FINE SCENIC COLOR LITHOGRAPHS (lithograph title and 29 views on 25 plates) by T. S. Boys, W. Gauci, A. Picken, and L. Haghe, all with original thick tissue guards. Abbey Travel 32; Hardie, "English Coloured Books," p. 247. ◆Covers a little soiled and with minor evidence of insect activity, corners rather bumped, but the original binding without major problems and still surprisingly solid for such a large picture book. Faint stains to free endpapers, a few additional trivial defects, but VERY FINE INTERNALLY, THE PLATES ESPECIALLY CLEAN AND FRESH, WITH CONSISTENTLY BRIGHT COLORING.

Composed of idyllic renderings of views along the great Belgian and German rivers noted in the title, the picturesque illustrations in this book are the work of Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867), a self-taught artist and close friend of Charles Dickens who began his career as a scenic painter for dramatic productions. In addition to the dramatic landscapes, castles, and ruins depicted here, the artist also paints a picture of daily life in the region by illustrating in great detail the activities of peasants, laborers, and other common folk who lived and worked in the area. Indeed, the stories suggested by the characters' interactions--for example, a group of women taking a break from their labors to gossip, two lovers stealing a quiet moment on a hillside, a solitary old woman selling her meager supply of fresh vegetables on the road--are as enchanting as the landscapes themselves. The theatrical qualities of these plates are perhaps no surprise, given the artist's background in stagecraft. Stanfield worked his way up from volunteering for amateur theater productions to a paid position at Drury Lane in London's fashionable Covent Garden district. During his 12-year tenure with that theater, as DNB tells us, "he achieved a legendary reputation as a creator of romantic landscape scenery. . . . Stanfield's work especially 'taught pit and gallery to admire landscape art and the boxes to become connoisseurs,' according to his friend W. M. Thackeray." Even after Stanfield left Drury Lane to focus on his paintings and published works, the artist continued to paint scenery for Dickens, and even supplied illustrations for some of his works of fiction, including the "Christmas Books." DNB notes that upon Stanfield's death, Dickens wrote "a moving editorial tribute . . . [which] described him as 'the soul of frankness, generosity and simplicity. The most genial, the most affectionate . . . and the most lovable of men.'" Intact copies of the present work are quite scarce in the marketplace..