[Lear, Edward]. A Book of Nonsense by Derry Down Derry. London: Published by T. McLean, 26, Haymarket, 1855. SECOND EDITION.
Oblong 8vo - 5-7/16" x 8-1/8". [72] pp., printed on rectos only. Complete with 72 lithographed illustrations, each accompanied by a five-line limerick caption. Original publisher's green cloth-backed stiff gray paper wrappers, the upper wrapper lithographed with an introductory vignette, limerick text, and imprint data. Housed in a custom black morocco-backed cloth slipcase with a matching cloth chemise, the latter featuring the illustrated bookplate of children's literature authority Justin G. Schiller; the spine panel decorated with traditional gilt-lettering.
The overall condition of the volume is VERY GOOD +. The highly vulnerable original lithographed wrappers remain physically intact, presenting bright surfaces with minor, routine rubbing and light wear localized to the extremities. Internally, the sheets are notably clean, bright, and free of the foxing, thumbing, or structural tearing characteristic of heavily handled juvenile titles. Physical defects are limited to the front free endpaper, which is currently starting along the inner gutter.
Provenance: From the library of prominent American mystery author and pioneering anthologist of nonsense verse, Carolyn Wells, with her illustrated bookplate affixed to the inside front wrapper; subsequently from the specialized collection of the preeminent children's literature antiquarian bookseller and bibliographer, Justin G. Schiller, with his distinctive illustrated bibliophilic bookplate affixed directly beneath.
Lithographic Autography and Pre-Trade Bibliography
This 1855 issue constitutes the second edition of Edward Lear's foundational masterpiece of nonsense literature, appearing under his established pseudonym "Derry Down Derry." Together with the virtually unobtainable 1846 first edition published by Thomas McLean, this represents the only configuration of the work to be executed entirely via direct lithography. Rather than employing traditional typographic typesetting, the text and drawings were transferred directly onto lithographic stones from Lear's hand-drawn layouts, preserving the author's immediate graphic spontaneity and precise integration of image and verse.
The printing histories of these dual early McLean editions are notoriously complex. Bibliographical research suggests that both the 1846 and 1855 states were produced in severely limited commercial runs of between 250 and 500 copies each, primarily distributed within Lear's immediate social and patron networks. This autographic lithographic presentation differs fundamentally from the subsequent 1861 Routledge edition—commonly designated the "third edition"—which was entirely re-engraved on wood, reformatted into three lines of verse per limerick to accommodate standard typography, and served as the first trade edition to publicly identify Lear by his proper name.
Census, Scarcity, and Association Value
Because of their fragile, non-casebound wrapper format and immediate popularity within Victorian nurseries, the physical attrition rate for the 1855 lithographed sheets was absolute. Surviving copies are almost universally encountered in fragmentary states, heavily stained, or stripped of their original paper wrappers for modern institutional rebinding. The presence of this example in its original publisher's binding is further elevated by its exceptional association lineage, linking two of the twentieth century's most significant collectors of non-traditional and juvenile literature: Carolyn Wells, whose Nonsense Anthology (1902) formalized the genre's canon, and Justin G. Schiller, author of the definitive census on the text, Nonsensus (1988).
A current institutional sweep via the OCLC/WorldCat database emphasizes the severe scarcity of this variant, locating only eight copies in permanent public collections worldwide.
A REMARKABLY PRESERVED, WELL-DOCUMENTED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEFINITIVE LITHOGRAPHED EMBODIMENT OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY NONSENSE VERSE, BEARING IMPECCABLE ASSOCIATION PROVENANCE REQUISITE FOR HIGH-END RESEARCH HOLDINGS IN VICTORIAN GRAPHIC ART AND JUVENILE BIBLIOGRAPHY.
# 001254