The Universal Songster; Or, Museum of Mirth: Forming the Most Complete, Extensive and Valuable Collection of Ancient and Modern Songs in the English Language, 3 vols., 1825-26
London: John Fairburn et al. 1825-1826. First printing. Hardcover. First edition, 1825-1826. 3 volumes, tall 8vo, xvi, 448 pp. xvi, 448 pp, xvi, 448 pp. Contemporary half gilt tooled calf with brown calf spine labels, marbled boards, text in double columns, 3 engraved frontispieces by George Cruikshank, 3 added engraved titles (a bit foxed), 84 woodcuts (24 by George, 57 by Robert), with the rarely encountered first state of the frontispiece to first volume, which was altered after a very few copies were issued -- see Cohn no. 820. Very good, light rubbing along joints, tiny chip to head of spine of third volume, odd whitening to the gilt work along spines -- treated with some anti-acidification product we suspect, but the old owner of these books is deceased so we are left in the dark. Good. Item #H4161
Price: $350.00