HUGHES, Thomas. The Scouring of the White Horse or the Long Vacation Ramble of a London Clerk.

By the author of “Tom Brown’s School Days.” Illustrated by Richard Doyle. Cambridge: Macmillan & Co. and 23 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, 1859. First edition. Crown octavo. pp. xi, [1], 228, 16 (Macmillan List). Bound in late nineteenth century full pale blue morocco, covers framed by triple gilt fillets, with rosette tool in corners; board edges and turn-ins gilt; spine divided into six panels by five gilt raised bands, title and illustrator in gilt direct in the second and third, the remainder tooled in gilt to a centre-an-corner design; maroon and blue endbands. Original pictorial cover and spine bound in at end. All edges gilt. A particularly fine copy in a handsome later morocco binding.

A charming and increasingly sought-after work by the English novelist and social reformer Thomas Hughes, best remembered for Tom Brown’s School Days (1857). Published at the height of his popularity, The Scouring of the White Horse combines travel narrative, local history, folklore, and social observation in an affectionate account of the traditional Berkshire festival associated with the ancient chalk figure of the Uffington White Horse.
The work records Hughes’s participation in the great “scouring” festivities of 1857, when local communities gathered to clean and restore the prehistoric hill figure. Through a series of lively sketches and conversations, Hughes captures the customs, sports, dialects, and rural traditions of Victorian England at a moment when many were already disappearing under the pressures of industrialisation and social change. His account remains an important source for the study of English folklore and popular culture, while also reflecting the author’s characteristic concern for community, civic responsibility, and the preservation of national traditions.
The volume is further enhanced by the delightful illustrations of Richard Doyle, whose humorous and highly accomplished drawings complement the text throughout. Doyle’s contributions rank among the finest examples of mid-Victorian book illustration and add considerably to the appeal of the work.
An attractive example of a Victorian classic, here preserved in a handsome later morocco binding of exceptional quality.

[CAT 164]