Set of Four. Poet, Miser, Virtuoso, Hypochondriac, A
London: E. and C. M’Lean, 1824. Item #06712
Poet, Miser, Virtuoso, Hypochondriac
An Exceptionally Rare Suite of Four Hand-Colored Aquatint Caricatures by John Augustus Atkinson
ATKINSON, A. [John Augustus]. A Set of Four. Poet, Miser, Virtuoso, Hypochondriac. By Atkinson. London: Published by E. and C. M’Lean, 1824.
Large folio (14 7/8 x 10 7/8 inches; 378 x 277 mm.). Four hand-colored aquatint plates. Each plate with the original Edward Orme imprint: “Pub. March 1, 1819, by Edwd. Orme, Bond St.” The third plate watermarked “J. Whatman 1823.”
Original tan wrappers, front wrapper printed in black within a decorative border and "Price, Coloured, 12s". Wrapper extremities a little chipped and slightly soiled. Still an excellent copy of this exceptionally rare suite. Housed in a gray cloth clamshell case, spine with printed paper label.
A most unusual and highly spirited set of four social caricatures by John Augustus Atkinson, depicting the Poet, Miser, Virtuoso, and Hypochondriac. Although issued here by E. and C. M’Lean in 1824, the plates themselves bear Edward Orme’s March 1, 1819 imprint, suggesting an earlier appearance or intended issue. Abbey notes: “From the imprint it is evident that these plates appeared first in 1819, but whether in the same form or whether they were part of a larger book is not clear.”
John Augustus Atkinson (1775–1830), painter, etcher, and illustrator, was taken to Russia as a child by his uncle James Walker, engraver to Catherine the Great. Patronized by both Catherine and Emperor Paul, Atkinson returned to London in 1801 and became known for his finely observed costume and manners books, as well as for caricatural works such as Miseries of Human Life (1807).
The present suite represents a rare example of his later satirical work.
We have handled this title only once before, in the G.S. Tregear issue, which was in a somewhat larger format, measuring 18 1/2 x 11 9/16 inches.
Abbey, Life, 257; Bobins III, 832; Prideaux, p. 326.
Price: $4,250.00