[Whitfield, Henry John.]

8vo, 10pp. pamphlet, with half-title but without title-page as issued, notes at the end, modern grey wrappers, half-title slightly nicked at outer margin, minor spotting
[together with:]
[Thackeray, William Makepeace.] "Timbuctoo" [in] The Snob...No. 4. Thursday, April 30, 1829.  Cambridge: W.H. Smith, 1829, Vol. 1, "fourth edition", no.4, 6pp.;  The Snob. No.3. Thursday, Apri 23, 1829, "fourth edition", 6pp.; The Snob. No.5. Thursday, May 7, 1829, "fourth edition", 6pp.; The Snob. No.6. Thursday, May 14, 1829, "fifth edition", 6pp.; 4 issues, variously tinted papers, unbound as issued, preserved in red cloth folder and horizontally-grained full red morocco pull-off box (2)

Simon Nowell-Smith, the sale of his collection by Bertram Rota, Catalogue 300, 2002, item 790

[Whitfield:] Michael Trevanion, The Book Collector, 1973, pp. 386-7, where this is no III of the four entries for the Chancellor's Medal in 1829, referring to his copy
[Thackeray:] Grolier Catalogue of an exhibition commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of William Makepeace Thackeray 1; Van Duzer 204

See lots 172 (Tennyson, the winner) and 165 (Hallam) for other entries in the competition. There was one further known entry, of unknown authorship, with an epigraph from The Aeneid (copy present in the the books and papers bequeathed by John Willis Clark to Cambridge University Library).

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

the first item is very rare.

Whitfield's Timbuctoo is another entry in the contest for the Chancellor's Gold Medal for poetry, won by Tennyson (see lot 172). Whitfield, not known as a poet, was at Magdalene.

Thackeray's "Timbuctoo" in The Snob (which he edited and contributed to) is his well-known parody of Tennyson's winning poem.