Pictures of Life & Character From the Collection of Mr. Punch, Complete in 5 Volumes.
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1855. First edition. Hardcover. Early 19th century English engravings of wit and humor, with many plates of which Thackeray exclaimed, "This book is better than plum-cake at Christmas." One of the great visual repositories of mid- Victorian English life and humor, some full page, on horses, horse racing (Vol. I, a full page plate entitled "Memorials of the Great Exhibition of 1851, The Great Derby Race for Eighteen Hundred and Fifty-One"), hunting, cricket, deep sea diving and emigration.
1855 - 1869. Oblong folio in five volumes (31 X 46 cm); first, second, third, fourth and fifth series, numbered 1-5. Green cloth covers, gilt title and volume numbers to spines. Covers only slt rubbed at spine ends, o/w very good, lovely condition. Vol. I: 94pp, Index (2); Vol. II: 96pp; Vol. III: 94pp, Index (2); Vol. IV: 96pp; Vol. V: 94pp, ads (1). Internally, clean and bright; Vol. III and V have very light damp marks at top half of early pages. Houfe 35; cf. also Ray 139 (for 1886 collected ed.) OCLC 1956277. Very good. Item #13394
Price: $700.00