Graphic Illustrations of Hogarth

Samuel Ireland. Graphic Illustrations of Hogarth, from Pictures, Drawings, and Scarce Prints in the Possession of Samuel Ireland…. London: R. Faulder, New Bond Street; J. Egerton, Whitehall, 1794. xvi, 183pp. Kelliegram Binding with front and back pictorial binding design.

Quarto. Beautifully bound in an elaborate full morocco-gilt Kelliegram binding, featuring an eight-color morocco inlaid cover portrait to the front board and a seven-color morocco inlaid cover portrait to the rear. Gilt Kelliegram signature stamped to the rear board's lower turn-in. The front inlay is Count Viviani, from plate 3, page 34; the rear inlay is from plate 1, page 25. Marbled endpapers; all edges gilt; silk bookmark sewn in. With 57 plates, some aquatint, one folding.

William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist and he is perhaps best known for his moral series A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode.

Unlike many other artists, Hogarth's work became highly sought-after during his lifetime. Satirical cartoons were wildly popular and mass produced as prints. Hogarth is thought to have brought a new level of comedy to fine art in England. Despite mass appeal, prints were still quite costly, until reprints made them more accessible to a wider audience.

Kelliegram Binding. Founded in 1770 by John Kellie, Kelly and Sons was a commercial binding firm known their innovative techniques and ornate designs. Kelliegram bindings are easily identifiable as genuine through a gilt, blocked signature stamped to rear boards and, through their intricate leather designs, usually found on front and back outer covers. Often, images from within the book are recreate in thin or thick layers of leather.