A Book of Nonsense

London: T.McLean ., 1855. Second edition. Hardcover. Good. Not dated but circa 1855. Second edition, second issue. Rebound in half leather with marble boards circa 1900, retaining the original lithographic front cover/title page with ‘New Edition’ in top right corner, publisher T.McLean in lower right corner.. Lithographed throughout with pictorial title 'Old Derry Down Derry' and 71 of 72 plates only (lacking 'Cape Horn'), printed on rectos only on thicker paper. The two 'Old Man of the West' plates with correct images, plates 20, 25, 34, 64 & 65 with parts of the verse redrawn ,four being the same plates as in the first edition, foxed in parts. Plate number 65 is badly cropped at the bottom, with loss of the last line of text. Plate 14 'Old Man of Jamaica' poorly printed at head and with scratch to verse, one or two images very slightly cropped at head, The binding is worn, rubbed, with the front hinge being quite weak and spine faded. First published in 1846 in two volumes, only the first two editions were printed by lithography, wood-engraving being preferred for the third and subsequent editions. Both of the first two editions were small, possibly as few as 250 - 500 copies being printed. Even the third edition only numbered 1000 copies. The binding method for the first two editions was by the 'perfect' or gutta-percha method, and copies are often found in a distressed state, most probably lacking their original bindings and usually incomplete. The first two lithographed editions (the first edition and this, the second edition) include three limericks which were suppressed when Routledge issued the 3rd, wood-engraved, edition. Those plates were: "Old Man of Kildare", "There was an Old Man of New York" and "There was an Old Sailor of Compton".