“AN ARTIST OF RARE TALENTS, BOTH IN HUMOUR AND PATHOS”

CRUIKSHANK, George. The Bachelor's Own Book; or, the Adventures of Mr. Lambkin, (Gent.), in the Pursuit of Pleasure and Amusement, and Also in Search of Health and Happiness. In Twenty-Four Plates, Designed and Etched by George Cruikshank. London: George Routledge and Sons, circa 1845. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter green crushed morocco, raised bands, top edge gilt, marbled boards and endpapers. $850.

Early edition, illustrated with 24 plates by George Cruikshank and handsomely bound by Riviere & Son.

"Cruikshank attained great celebrity as an artist of rare talents, both in humour and pathos" (Allibone, 456). Perhaps better known for his illustrations of others' books, George Cruikshank is "at his best when he freely follows his own conceptions" as both author and illustrator (DNB). "As a caricaturist he was the legitimate successor of Rowlandson and Gillray; but both the broad grin of the one and the satiric ferocity of the other were mitigated in their pupil by a more genial spirit of fun and an altered environment" (DNB). This amiable humor is best shown in the delightful narrative of Mr. Lambkin, the bachelor's, restoration to good health and social standing through his eventual marriage. With the original blue paper wrappers bound in at rear. Bookplates. Catalogue description pasted in on the front flyleaf.

Toning to spine and extremities of boards. A lovely near-fine copy, handsomely bound.