The Comic Blackstone, With Illustrations by George Cruikshank, 1846

1846. Cruikshank, George. Cruikshank, George. An 1846 Comic Blackstone in a Zaehnsdorf Binding A'Beckett, Gilbert Abbott [1811-1856]. Cruikshank, George [1797-1878], Illustrator. The Comic Blackstone. With Illustrations by Cruikshank. London: Published at the Punch Office, 92, Fleet Street, 1846. xii, 252 pp. Frontispiece. Pictorial title page. Octavo (6-3/4" x 4-1/4"; 17.14 x 19.79 cm). Superb signed calf binding by Zaehnsdorf, gilt rules with corner fleurons to boards, gilt spine with raised bands, gilt rules to board edges, top edges gilt, gilt inside dentelles, ribbon marker, original pictorial boards mounted to rear endleaves. A few minor scratches and nicks to boards, joints just starting at ends, corners lightly bumped and rubbed, front hinge cracked, rear hinge starting, later bookplate of George and Nora Ranney to front pastedown, small bookseller stamp (Bartlett & Co., Boston) to verso of front free endpaper. Moderate toning to interior, faint offsetting to title page, early owner signature (Edward Palmer, Jr.) to head of title page. A very attractive copy. $500. * Reissue of the first edition, 1844-1846, in a single volume. It is struck from the original plates, but the second part does not include the title page and frontispiece from the first issue. The charming illustrations are parodies of legal concepts and procedures. The iconographically rich frontispiece features a judge in ice skates balancing himself on a tightrope with Lady Justice's scales while an amused Lady Justice looks on. Born into prominent Chicago families, George A. Ranney, Jr. [1912-2002] and Nora Ranney [1916-1987], his wife, were leading philanthropists who made important contributions to environmental, social and education causes and organizations in and around Chicago. Mr. Ranney was a graduate of Yale Law School. Not in Eller. Widener and Weiner, Law's Picture Books 9.10. Cohn, Catalogue of Works Illustrated by George Cruikshank 1. Laeuchli, A Bibliographical Catalog of William Blackstone 435.