[Lear, Edward]

2 parts in 2 volumes, oblong 8vo (141 x 206mm.), FIRST EDITION, lithographed titles and 72 lithographed plates by Lear, contemporary backed boards (volume 1 in brown cloth, volume 2 in red roan) with upper wrappers of each volume laid down onto upper boards, collector's green morocco back folding box and chemises by The Chelsea Bindery, some wear to boards, chip to lower portion of spine and lower edge of upper board of volume 2, title page to volume 1 trimmed, some hinges split, some spotting and browning throughout

Osborne I, p.69; see Schiller Nonsensus (unrecorded)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where 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 SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF LEAR'S BOOK OF LIMERICKS.

During the 1830s, Lear spent long periods of time at Knowsley, the home of Lord Stanley (who would later become the thirteenth Earl of Liverpool; for many years rumours circulated that it was in fact he who was the true author of these verses, "Lear" being an anagram for "Earl"). Stanley employed Lear to draw and record his private menagerie of animals and birds, but it was also here that, finding himself "in a Country House, where children and mirth abounded", Lear composed and illustrated the majority of his Book of Nonsense, "no assistance ever having been given me in any way but that of uproarious delight and welcome at the appearance of every new absurdity" (Lear quoted in ODNB).

Copies of the first edition of Lear's Nonsense, which was most likely printed in a small run of a maximum of 500 copies, are extremely rare: Schiller's Nonsensus records only 23 known copies many of which are incomplete. This copy, apparently unknown to Schiller, is not only complete with the titles and 72 plates, but also preserves the fragile original wrappers.

As often, the sequence of the plates varies from what is assumed to be the original order and instead is as follows:

Part 1: Title (without imprint); 1 Coblenz; 2 Norway; 3 Sweden; 4 Troy; 5 Peru / do; 6 Tyre; 7 Bute; 8 Rheims; 9 Moldavia; 10 Prague; 11 Nepaul; 12 Columbia; 13 Kamschatka; 14 Tartary; 15 Peru / stew; 16 Leghorn; 17 Berlin; 18 Burton; 19 Abruzzi; 20 Chester; 21 Hague; 22 Dee; 23 eyes; 24 Clare; 25 Calcutta; 26 Vesuvius; 27 Vienna; 28 Gretna; 29 West / vest; 30 Isles; 31 Cape; 32 Hull; 33 Quebec; 34 Marseilles; 35 Kilkenny; 36 Corfu

Part 2: Title (with imprint); 1 Ischia; 2 East; 3 Poole; 4 nose; 5 Madras; 6 Compton; 7 Buda; 8 Jamaica; 9 West / rest; 10 Dorking; 11 Turkey; 12 Rhodes; 13 Apulia; 14 Hurst; 15 South; 16 Sparta; 17 Coast; 18 folly; 19 Dundee; 20 New York; 21 North; 22 Wales; 23 Nile; 24 Bohemia; 25 Wrekin; 26 Cheadle; 27 Ems; 28 Welling; 29 Prague; 30 Troy / soy; 31 Cadiz; 32 Russia; 33 Cape Horn; 34 Parma; 35 Majorca; 36 Kildare