Lot 52: A finely bound copy of Thackeray's satirical taxonomy of snobs

[FINE BINDING - LITERATURE]

THACKERAY, WILLIAM MAKEPEACE. The Book of Snobs. London: Punch office, 1848. First edition, first issue, With p. 126 misnumbered as 124. Finely bound in red morocco, gilt boards and spine, all edges gilt, binding signed Orrock & Son, housed in a custom brown calf and marbled paper slipcase. 6 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches (17.25 x 11.5 cm); 180 pp., half-title, illustrations. A few minor spots of soiling and wear, sunning, soiling and wear to slipcase, contents with the occasional spot.

Thackeray's immensely popular series of essays, titled The Snobs of England by One of Themselves, first appeared in the magazine Punch between 1846 and 1847. It gave the author his first taste of widespread acclaim and soon led to the publication of the essays in book form. This first edition is a revised version of the Punch series (without the numbers dealing with current events - nos. 17 to 23), published in the same year as his classic novel Vanity Fair.