{"product_id":"the-kickleburys-on-the-rhine-mr-m-a-titmarsh-1st-edition","title":"The Kickleburys on the Rhine, Mr. M. A. Titmarsh — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Kickleburys on the Rhine, Mr. M. A. Titmarsh [William Makepeace Thackeray] — First Edition \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: London, Smith, Elder, \u0026amp; Co., 1850\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 8vo, pp. [iv], 87, [1], [2 ad].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Fair. The book is offered in its original printed pictorial boards, a scarce survival, though presently heavily compromised by amateur historical repairs. A wide strip of clear adhesive tape has been applied along the entire length of the spine, overlapping onto the hinges to act as structural reinforcement for a failing backstrip. The pink boards themselves exhibit considerable darkening, surface soiling, and rubbing, alongside bumped and heavily worn corners. The binding remains firmly attached, though largely aided by the structural tape. Internally, the original endpapers show some offsetting and spotting. The text block and plates are generally sound, displaying occasional light handling marks, isolated instances of minor foxing, and faint age-toning to the extremities. Crucially, the fifteen hand-coloured plates remain pleasingly bright and well-preserved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: This is a first edition of William Makepeace Thackeray’s popular Christmas book, published under his enduring pseudonym, Mr. M. A. Titmarsh. The work is notable for featuring fifteen charming hand-coloured illustrations by Thackeray himself, consisting of a frontispiece, a vignette title page, and thirteen full-page plates, all vividly capturing the eccentricities of his characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile many of Thackeray's Christmas books were subsequently rebound by later collectors in handsome leather, encountering the work in its original pink printed pictorial boards, priced on the cover at \"7s. 6d. Coloured,\" is distinctly uncommon. Despite the extensive external wear, this copy represents an authentic, unsophisticated survival of Victorian publishing history, retaining its original advertisement leaf at the rear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA delightful and biting social satire, \u003ci\u003eThe Kickleburys on the Rhine\u003c\/i\u003e follows the foibles of a respectable, and remarkably pompous, English family as they travel abroad. With sharp wit and keen observation, Thackeray skewers the snobbery, pretensions, and absurdities of the Victorian middle and upper classes on their grand European tours. Accompanied by the author's own humorous illustrations, it remains a thoroughly entertaining glimpse into the social dynamics of 19th-century British society.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54814062575955,"sku":"5317","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260819_141747.jpg?v=1788254635","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/the-kickleburys-on-the-rhine-mr-m-a-titmarsh-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}