A Series of Original Portraits and Caricature Etchings. With Biographical Sketches and Illustrative Anecdotes.
Edinburgh: Hugh Paton, Carver and Gilder to her Majesty Queen Victoria, 1837-38. 2 volumes bound in 4, 10 1/2 inches tall. A spectacular set of the first edition of this extraordinary and hilarious works with its 329 etched plates in superb condition. In a full early Victorian hard grained embossed morocco with raised bands and very fine blind tooling to the spine and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. There is very slight fading to the spines and a couple of tiny scuffs, otherwise in pristine condition. There is a little offsetting from the plates and a small tear to the folding plate otherwise clean. This famous collection of portraits by the Edinburgh engraver John Kay (1742-1826) was later reprinted in 1842 and 1877. 'Kay's caricatures provide light relief in the field of portraiture at the end of the eighteenth century. He quickly and deftly summed up the characters of those living in a very prosperous Georgian Edinburgh' (ODNB). A really nice set.