Modern Literature

Landscape Painter and Nonsense Poet (1812-1888), 2nd edition, with additional illustrations, b&w illustrations from Lear’s watercolours and paintings, portraits of Lear and Lear’s cartoon drawings (see example below), chronology of Lear’s life and list of his published works, index, xvi & 280 pp, red cloth in d/w, slight damp-marking to cloth at base of spine (but not to the pages themselves), slight damage to front endpaper (see note below), otherwise in very good condition, John Murray 1968

21.4 x 13.3 cm, 520g, SBN 71951 804 0

An unusual case of a book reprinted by the same publisher 30 years after its first appearance, with a new preface by the author.  In the meantime the book was published in paperback by Penguin in 1948.  All editions are now long out of print.

See below the description from the dustwrapper flap, and the extracts from reviews of the 1938 edition.

Back in the 1960s (and earlier) bookshops used to advertise their sold books by placing tiny gummed labels at the bottom of the front paste-down – Foyles and Hatchards in London were prime examples.  This book has such a label, from Gieves Bookshop on the Hard at Portsmouth.  However, when the damp affected the base of the spine it seems to have stuck the gold ink from the label on to the facing endpaper.  Then when the endpaper was opened a small section remained on the label – see the picture below.