first edition
1842 · London
by Blanchard, Laman (Editor)
London: Tilt and Bogue, 1842. First Edition. First printing Very good+ in full polished tan calf covered boards by Riviere with five raised bands on the spine with gilt tool work with a gilt on black leather label in the compartments, gilt borders on the boards, gilt inside dentelles over dark blue paper end sheets. The top edge of the text block is gilt. The leather joints are worn and cracked but the hinges are tight and strong. The leather at the upper tips of the boards is worn through and there is a tiny 1/16" chip to the leather at the foot of the spine; and, there is an early prior owner's book plate on the front paste down. A small quarto measuring 9 1/8" tall by 5 1/2" deep containing 300 pages of text. Illustrated with twenty-two steel engraved plates and 78 wood engravings. Originally issued in wraps in nine individual parts. George Cruikshank (1792-1878), whose career spanned 60 years, was an English illustrator and caricaturist who was best known for his satirical portraits of English society and culture as well as being the illustrator for Charles Dickens' books: Sketches By Boz and Oliver Twist. (Inventory #: TB22867)