81


Watson gilder became the first editor. the change of name brought no radical change in scope or policy and Scribner’s Monthly and The Century constitute virtually an unbroken series from 1870 to 1930 when publication ceased.


the author of the article was William henry rideing, an american author with strong connections to england. after the death of his mother, rideing went to chicago and began writing for the press, giving up newspaper work in 1874 to devote himself entirely to literature and magazine journalism. he made several trips to europe and elsewhere with different artists to obtain material and from 1881 to 1883 edited Dramatic Notes in london. on his return to america he went to Boston where he wrote two books about london (both published in 1885). one was the Young Folk’s History of London and the other this one, an expansion of his original article which combined his first-hand knowledge of the city with a pre-existing interest in thackeray (he wrote Stray Moments with Thackeray in 1880).


the article was expanded to a duodecimo volume which was published in the uK by J.W. Jarvis and sons and reviewed by andrew lang in Lost Leaders, who commented that it is filled ‘with genial spectres that time can never lay’. it was published in the us by cupples, upham and company of Boston who also produced a limited, parchment-bound, large-paper edition, announced in The Nation March 11 1886, which is the edition upon which this copy is based.


this copy has been extra-illustrated and then finely bound by P.B. sanford, a Master craftsman of the Boston society of arts and crafts. he was a specialist in fine bindings, many of which were used to case extra-illustrated books. a number of his bindings feature in the collections of both amor leander hollingsworth and lawrence griswold DuBois (both major american collectors of the period), all are fine bindings and many are extra- illustrated. he also worked with private presses such as the Merrymount Press.


this extra-illustrated copy was commissioned by loren griswold DuBois (1853 - ?1919), a member of the grolier club, charter member of the club of odd Volumes and part of Boston society. DuBois graduated from harvard law school in 1878 and his fellows from the class of 1876 included William henry Moody who gained infamy as the junior prosecutor in the lizzie Borden case and later held positions in all three branches of the us goverment. Moody wrote in a 1916 letter to a fellow classmate: ‘Your mention of DuBois reminds me that after my ambition for scholarship was aroused, in spite of everything that i could do, i just had to take his dust. i have always hoped that he would give us some book or books on historical subjects. Perhaps they are still in preparation.’ (The Class of 1876, 1916).


DuBois was an avid collector of thackeray. amongst his books were: ‘a collection of first editions of the writings of thackeray is in sixty-four volumes. in one book is inserted an autograph letter written in the early fifties by thackeray to Miss Mary homes...amongst the other items are his “second Funeral of napoleon,” the original issue; “Vanity Fair,” first edition in the original parts, yellow wrappers; first editions of “Pendennis,” “the newcomers (sic),” and “the Virginians” in the original parts; eleven pages of galley proofs, from the cornhill Magazine, of the opening chapter of “lovel, the Widower,” with erasions, insertions, and other alterations in thackeray’s handwriting, and a letter by him with an original pen-an-ink sketch.’ (New York Times 9 november 1919 article on the forthcoming posthumous sale of his books).


this book was likely sold at the 17 – 18 november 1919 sale at the famous american art galleries (where childe hassam had his first major one-man show). the same pre-sale article made reference to the number of fine extra-illustrated copies of works. apparently ‘this section of the library was a labour of love with Mr. DuBois with the result that many choice prints have entered into the various works as additional plates.’ he may well have been aided by his position in Boston society. along with DuBois both sanford and rideing featured in the Boston Blue Book and DuBois may have used this to approach them for the work.


this copy has been expanded from the original frontispiece and 8 plates (drawn from the Century article) with portraits and views of london drawn from four main sources:


Illustrated London, or a Series of Views in the British Metropolis and its vicinity, engraved by Albert Henry Payne, from Original Drawings (1846). Payne (1812-1902) was english steel engraving, who worked in leipzig as a painter and illustrator.


London and its Environs in the Nineteenth Century (1836) by thomas hosmer shepherd (1792 – 1864), a watercolour artist well known for his architectural works. his work, mostly topographical, is characterized by an attention to detail, along with life-like scenes that contained people, carriages and horses.


Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, an illustrated, British periodical published from 1809 to 1829 by rudolph ackermann. the formal title of the journal was Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions, and politics, and in its day it had great influence on english taste in fashion, architecture, and literature.


Walks through London, including Westminster and the borough of Southwark, with the surrounding Suburbs (1817) by David hughson and William hamilton reid. reid was the son of servants in the household of the duke of hamilton, who paid for his early education at a parish school. he became a writer and bookseller after a period as radical Jacobite activist.


the various portraits are of people mentioned in the text such as ellen gwynn, horace Walpole and J.t. Fields and some of the important people in thackeray’s life like edmund Yates and charles Dickens. others simply add colour to the accounts of history such as elizabeth i and george ii. the portraits are of a variety of styles and periods and help illuminate not only the text and thackeray’s life but london itself as a historical setting.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96