PENNEL, H. Cholmondeley
Puck on Pegasus
London, John Camden Hotten, 1861
large 8vo, publisher’s purple cloth binding, gold stamping to boards and spine, brown cartridge paper endpapers, edges gilded, binder’s ticket (Bone & Son. 76, Fleet St. London), 156 p. + [4] ads.; near fine copy, slight fading to spine, spine ends bumped
First edition of this children’s book by H. Cholmondeley Pennel (1837-1915), a British naturalist and writer who published poetry and many volumes on coarse-fly and deep-sea fishing. This collection of poems was first published in 1861 by John Camden Hotten, a bibliophile who later became best known for his clandestine publishing of numerous erotic and pornographic titles. The poems in this volume are illustrated with many drawings by notable Victorian illustrators such as Leech, Phiz, Portch, and Tenniel with a beautiful frontispiece by George Cruikshank, engraved by Dalziel Brothers, Joseph Swain, John Swain and E. Evans. The extravagant design is reflective of the styles of the mid-century. Historically significant, it is a unique item in contextualising bookbinding histories.
