My Lord Mayor's Album or Cockney Sports 1835

London: Published by I. B. Brooks, 1835. My Lord Mayor's Album by Henry Heath
Twenty-Four Highly Amusing Hand Colored Lithograph Plates

[HEATH, Henry, illustrator]. My Lord Mayor's Album or Cockney Sports. London: Published by I. B. Brooks, 1st January 1835.

First edition. Small folio (10 x 7 1/8 inches; 255 x 182 mm.). Twenty-four highly amusing hand-colored lithograph plates, including hand colored engraved title-vignette frontispiece. Several plates dated 1834.

Handsomely bound by Rivière & Son ca. 1920 in full red morocco, covers triple-ruled in gilt. Spine with five raised bands elaborately tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt ruled board edges, elaborate gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers top edge gilt. With the armorial bookplate of Harry Bradfer-Lawrence F.S.A. on the front pastedown.

A wonderful example.

A rare and very amusing collection of colored illustrations depicting humorous sporting scenes. Henry Heath was probably the brother of William Heath. "He was a versatile and imitative artist, working in the loose and coarse [William] Heath manner between the years 1824-30. He did imitation caricatures in the style of John Doyle 'HB'...and etched vignettes in the style of Cruikshank and lithographs in the style of Seymour from 1834" (Houfe, The Dictionary of British Book Illustrators and Caricaturists 1800-1914, p. 337).

No example has appeared at auction since 1968 (this copy).

Apart from the hand colored frontispiece which corresponds with that reproduced in Schwerdt (volume II, p. 38) none of the remaining twenty-three plates in this exceptionally rare collection appear in the twenty-seven plates listed in Schwerdt and the nineteen of the twenty-seven plates listed in Abbey.

The Plates:

1. Pictorial title-page.
2. Innocence. "La Mr Magg's don't you think I shoud be rather too Young for you?" (Green paper)
3. Melancholy. Why my dear Mrs Dumps whatever can be the matter with you? Oh nothing only a little fit of the Blue Devils. (Green paper)
4. Constancy. Ah Major it's only your likenefs to my dear departed Husband that pleads for you. (Pink paper)
5. Liberality. Oh my dear, dear Papa, how very kinds of you! I will really be a Good Girl for a whole Week if I can! (Purple paper)
6. Candour. "Oh you'r the young woman that wants a Situation eh? And I've no doubt you'll do for me!!!" (Pink paper)
7. Gaiety. Now Granny I'll shew you the new step. (Green paper)
8. Curiosity. "You wish for A Son Madam." Dear me how did you know that? (Natural paper)
9. Admiration. Ah you Beauty! I say my dear do you think your Husband will be out late to Night! (Natural paper)
10. Modesty. "Lovely Mifs Higgins shall I have the pleasure of hearing you play? La Sir I could not indeed. Unlefs Par and Mar where present. (Pink paper)
11. Interrogation. I certainly think Captn. B. the Handsomest man I ever saw! don't you Love? (Peach paper)
12. A Character of No Consequence. This is only my Husband. (Green paper)
13. African Characteristics. How the hammal stares I think I am not unknown to him. (Green paper)
14. Miss Taken Characters. Something good I suspect Jack!! (Brown paper)
15. Male Zoological Character. What a creature!!!! What a beautiful Roar!!!! (Brown paper)
16. "Penny Magazine Characters" What shall I have the honor Gentlemen of selecting for your Evening studies? Hany thing vots short, The Penny Mag's a werry pretty book if it vasent so dry!! (Green paper)
17. A Suspected Character. You've stolen that Gentlemens pockethandkerchief you scoundrel. No Sir, I've only borrowed it, see vot a cold I've got, and I've left my own vipe at home. (Brown paper)
18. In Vino Veritas. You are an arrant Seducer Sir. Then your Wife has been blabbing. (Yellow paper)
19. Betty my Dear I mean to make you a present of a new Cap, but not a word to Misses. (Grey paper)
20. Flare up! (Grey paper)
21. "Pursuit of knowledge under difficulties." (Grey paper)
22. "Panic consequent upon the failure of a Country Bank". (Grey paper)
23. I'm wery much oblige to you Mr. Figgins for taking care ò my poor little Wife vile I vos a Ramsgate it vos wery kind on ye'r!!! (Grey paper)
24. Now don't, Sir! Missus is waiting for her Breakfast. (Grey paper)

Harry Lawrence Bradfer-Lawrence (1887-1965) was an antiquarian with a particular interest in Norfolk & Yorkshire, England. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1924, as Treasurer for twenty years from 1944, Bradfer-Lawrence greatly improved the Society's financial position. He was employed by Hammonds' brewery in Bradford, in 1942 rising to become Chairman, as well as Managing Director. He was to remain Chairman of United Breweries Limited, as Hammonds became through merger, until 1962. He was to maintain a lively interest in all matters antiquarian and was to build a remarkable collection of charters, seals, manuscripts and books; it comes as no surprise to note he was a member of the exclusive Roxburghe Club. Bradfer-Lawrence must have taken a great interest in the sale by auction of two 15th century works printed by William Caxton, by the Ripon Cathedral Library in 1960, for he was able to have-presumably unique-photographic facsimiles made up for his own library.

Abbey, Life, 390; Schwerdt II p.38 (both with different plates).