Description
The first issue of The Comic History of England by Gilbert Abbott A’Beckett, the complete twenty-part serialization for Punch Magazine.
Octavo, [twenty issues]. Publisher’s original blue paper wraps with title printed on cover. All in near fine condition, with some light wear and occasional toning along edges. One issue is loose from its wraps. Includes monthly issues from July – December 1846, January – December 1847, and February 1848; nineteen volumes in total. The final two of the twenty parts were issued together in the February copy. Each issue includes a hand-colored frontispiece illustrated by John Leech, all with protective tissue covers, and hundreds of in-text woodcuts. (Tooley, 296) (Abbey Life, 434) Housed in a custom three quarter black morocco slipcase, dark green pebbled cloth boards, title in gilt on spine.
Punch was a British monthly magazine known for its sharp political satire, humor, and caricatures, first published in 1841. It became a leading source of social commentary, influencing public opinion and reflecting the cultural and political climate of Victorian England through its witty cartoons and written articles.
