FURNISS, Harry. Harry Furniss at Home.

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1904. First edition. Quarto. pp. xvi, 271. Profusely illustrated throughout by the author, including full-page plates, caricatures and decorative chapter headings. A very good bright copy in the original pictorial cloth. Some light rubbing and marking to binding, slight wear to extremities and minor internal spotting and toning as expected. Internally clean and sound with illustrations strong and fresh. An attractive example. Original pictorial brown cloth, upper cover and spine elaborately blocked in gilt with striking Art Nouveau-inspired design depicting Furniss surrounded by figures and caricatures.

A wonderfully exuberant autobiographical work by the celebrated Victorian and Edwardian caricaturist and illustrator Harry Furniss, best remembered for his long association with Punch magazine and for illustrating works by Lewis Carroll and other major literary figures of the period. Written and illustrated entirely by Furniss himself, the work offers lively reminiscences of London society, journalism, theatre, politics, sport and artistic life at the turn of the twentieth century. The volume is especially attractive for its abundance of humorous illustrations and its highly decorative publisher’s binding, now increasingly sought after by collectors of illustrated books, caricature, Edwardian design and Art Nouveau cloth bindings.

The contents include anecdotes relating to Punch, parliamentary caricature, society portraiture, celebrated actors and politicians, golf, journalism and literary circles, accompanied throughout by Furniss’s instantly recognisable pen work. The dramatic cover design and illustrated title-page make this one of the author’s most visually appealing productions.

Harry Furniss (1854–1925) was among the most influential caricaturists of late Victorian Britain. His work appeared extensively in Punch from the 1880s onwards, while his illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s Sylvie and Bruno and numerous theatrical and political subjects secured his reputation internationally. Decorative cloth-bound works by Furniss in original condition have become increasingly desirable in the market for illustrated Edwardian books and fin-de-siècle design.

[L3 6A]