{"product_id":"1855-edward-lear-a-book-of-nonsense-lithographed-second-edition","title":"A Book of Nonsense. New [2nd] Edition.","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e[Lear, Edward]. A Book of Nonsense by Derry Down Derry. London: Published by T. McLean, 26, Haymarket, 1855. \u003cstrong\u003eSECOND EDITION\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eOblong 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 \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"123\"\u003eillustrated bookplate of children's literature authority Justin G. Schiller\u003c\/b\u003e; the spine panel decorated with traditional gilt-lettering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003eThe overall condition of the volume is \u003cstrong\u003eVERY GOOD +\u003c\/strong\u003e. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"13\"\u003e\u003cb data-index-in-node=\"0\" data-path-to-node=\"6,0\"\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/b\u003e 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, \u003cstrong\u003eJ\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eustin \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eG. Schiller\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e, with his distinctive\u003cstrong\u003e illustrated bibliophilic bookplate\u003c\/strong\u003e affixed directly beneath.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"14\"\u003eLithographic Autography and Pre-Trade Bibliography\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"15\"\u003eThis 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 \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"15\" data-index-in-node=\"342\"\u003edirect lithography\u003c\/b\u003e. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003eThe 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 \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"16\" data-index-in-node=\"214\"\u003e250 and 500 copies each\u003c\/b\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eCensus, Scarcity, and Association Value\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"18\"\u003eBecause 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 \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"614\"\u003eNonsense Anthology\u003c\/i\u003e (1902) formalized the genre's canon, and Justin G. Schiller, author of the definitive census on the text, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"739\"\u003eNonsensus\u003c\/i\u003e (1988).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"19\"\u003eA current institutional sweep via the \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"19\" data-index-in-node=\"38\"\u003eOCLC\/WorldCat database\u003c\/b\u003e emphasizes the severe scarcity of this variant, locating \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"19\" data-index-in-node=\"118\"\u003eonly eight copies in permanent public collections worldwide\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"20\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"20\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eA 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"20\"\u003e# 001254\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45950038999189,"sku":"","price":12000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/files\/a_book_of_nonsense_01_20250412.jpg?v=1744576314","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/1855-edward-lear-a-book-of-nonsense-lithographed-second-edition","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}