The Ingoldsby Legends (in 3 vols.)
- London: Richard Bentley, 1855
London: Richard Bentley, 1855. Tenth edition. Fine. Three octavo volumes (7 5/8 x 4 3/4 in; 193 x 121 mm). xii, 338, [2]; iv, 288; vi, [2], 364 pp. Twenty engraved plates by George Cruikshank and John Leech, including frontispieces. Uniformly bound c. 1925 by Bayntun of Bath (stamp-signed to front turn-in) in full crushed blue morocco with a multi-colored pictorial onlay vignette to each upper cover, the vignette within an enchanting arabesque-bordered frame with extensive gilt dots as background. Wide turn-ins with triple fillets. Gilt rolled edges. Gilt ornamented raised bands. Gilt framed and ornamented compartments. All edges gilt. Pink marbled endpapers. A fine set, handsomely bound.
The exquisite multi-color leather inlays on the front cover of each volume depict as follows:
First Series: The Great Lord Cardinal from the Jackdaw of Rheims (opposite page 221)
Second Series: Shylock from The Merchant of Venice (opposite page 45)
Third Series: Sir Christopher Hatton from The House-Warming, A Legend of Bleeding-Heart Yard (opposite page 292)
The Ingoldsby Legends are Richard Barham's famous series of often-macabre and politically-incorrect parodies of myths, legends and ghost stories, with illustrations by George Cruikshank and John Leech. Barham's pieces began appearing in Bentley's Miscellany in 1837 (at about the time Oliver Twist was appearing there), and were immensely popular with that journal's readers—so much so that they were subsequently collected in these three separately-published volumes. Though Barham's work is largely forgotten today, we do have several hold-overs from it—such as the tale from which Walt Disney devised "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the earliest published version of the children's poem about the dog "Bingo."
George Bayntun (1873-1940) was the founder of Bayntun Bindery. Trained by apprenticeship with the Taylor family, Bayntun opened his own book bindery in 1894 dedicated to using traditional hand-crafted techniques and high-quality materials. The Bath-based firm acquired the Rivière Bindery in 1939, transforming into the “Bayntun-Riviere bindery,” which is still in existence and family owned. Fine.
The exquisite multi-color leather inlays on the front cover of each volume depict as follows:
First Series: The Great Lord Cardinal from the Jackdaw of Rheims (opposite page 221)
Second Series: Shylock from The Merchant of Venice (opposite page 45)
Third Series: Sir Christopher Hatton from The House-Warming, A Legend of Bleeding-Heart Yard (opposite page 292)
The Ingoldsby Legends are Richard Barham's famous series of often-macabre and politically-incorrect parodies of myths, legends and ghost stories, with illustrations by George Cruikshank and John Leech. Barham's pieces began appearing in Bentley's Miscellany in 1837 (at about the time Oliver Twist was appearing there), and were immensely popular with that journal's readers—so much so that they were subsequently collected in these three separately-published volumes. Though Barham's work is largely forgotten today, we do have several hold-overs from it—such as the tale from which Walt Disney devised "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the earliest published version of the children's poem about the dog "Bingo."
George Bayntun (1873-1940) was the founder of Bayntun Bindery. Trained by apprenticeship with the Taylor family, Bayntun opened his own book bindery in 1894 dedicated to using traditional hand-crafted techniques and high-quality materials. The Bath-based firm acquired the Rivière Bindery in 1939, transforming into the “Bayntun-Riviere bindery,” which is still in existence and family owned. Fine.