The Comic History of England
[London]: Published at the Punch Office, 1847; 1848. John Leech. First edition. Hardcover. 2 vol. 8vo. [3], vi-xii, [1], 2-320, [2]; [3], vi-viii, [3], 2-304, [2] pp. Full polished calf with gold-tooled borders on the boards, gold tooling on the turn-ins, spines in six compartments each with gold tooling and a red and a green morocco label lettered in gold; all edges gilt. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Binding is ca. 1900. Bound by Riviere & Son. Title pages printed in red and black. Lacks the half titles. Illustrated with a frontispiece in each volume, volume one with ten coloured steel etchings, and one hundred twenty woodcuts by John Leech; volume two with ten coloured steel etchings and one hundred twenty more woodcuts by Leech. Bookseller's ticket on the front pastedown (C.H. Buckland of London). NCBEL 1143. Oxford DNB, Simon Houfe, "Leech, John". Tooley 244-245. Leech famously contributed illustrations to The Ingoldsby Legends and to Punch magazine, focusing on humorous renderings of people and events. A'Beckett's comic history spans from the arrival of Julius Caesar through George II's reign. He concludes with a description of the art, religion, and industry located on the British Isles. Leech's bright and beautiful illustrations bring A'Beckett's words to life, and the two together convey a ribald satire of the British Empire. Very Good. Item #00009573
Volume one with its front board slightly splayed at its top edge, its front joint splitting but binding is secure, a small split to the front joint of volume two, early twentieth-century name on the recto of the frontispiece.
Price: $550.00