The Book of Nonsense

London: Frederick Warne and co, c1880. Cloth. Good Only. 10" by 8.5". Edward Lear. An early edition of Edward Lear's charmingly illustrated and much-loved work, The Book of Nonsense. The twenty-fifth edition. Collated, complete. The binding is somewhat compromised to this copy, but the pages remain extremely bright. Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author and poet, known for popularising the genre of literary nonsense. Lear wrote and illustrated a wide range of poems, songs and short stories, many of which conform to his nonsense style that gained him notoriety. Alongside this work, he undertook a small number of illustrations for Tennyson, alongside composing twelve musical settings for his poetical works. This work encapsulates his humour and nonsensical style through a series of charming limericks and their accompanying illustrations. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, generally smart. Rubbing to the extremities and to the head and tail of spine. Bumping to the head and tail of spine. Spots to the boards. Hinges have failed with the textblock detached but present. Internally, the binding has failed in places. Pages are very bright. Minor chips to the extremities of pages to the start of the work. Fading to the title page. Occasional handling marks to pages. Good Only