Books

George Cruikshank's Illustrations for Don Quixote Bound together with his Comic Almamnac for 1835. CRUIKSHANK, George, illustrator. CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de. Illustrations of Don Quixote, in a Series of Fifteen Plates, Designed and Etched by George Cruikshank. London: Charles Tilt, 1834. First separately published edition. Small octavo (6 3/8 x 3 7/8 inches; 161 x 98 mm.). [ii], 30 unnumbered pages of text. Fifteen fine engraved plates , all with tissue guards. [bound with] The Comic Almanac, For 1835: An Ephemeris in Jest and Earnest, containing "all things fitting for such a work." By Rigdum Funnidos, Gent. Adorned with a dozen of "righte merrie" cuts, pertaining to the months, sketched nd etched by George Cruikshank. London: Imprinted for Charles Tilt, [1835]. [2, title-page] pp. Twelve fine woodcut plates. Bound by Bauzonet ca. 1900 in full green morocco, covers double-ruled in gilt, spine with five raised bands, paneled and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt board-edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Publisher's front and back printed wrappers for the 1835 Comic Almanac bound in. Front and back joints very slightly split at top - but sound. A very good copy. This scarce little album, edited by Charles Tilt, contains the full suite of fifteen engravings of George Cruikshank illustrating the Adventures of Don Quixote which had been previously published in volumes XIII-XV of Roscoe's Novelist's Library, London, 1833. Cohn, 710 (three volume 1833 edition).

"Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes is a seminal work in Western literature, often regarded as the first modern novel. Published in two parts, the first in 1605 and the second in 1615, it tells the story of Alonso Quixano, a middle-aged gentleman from the region of La Mancha in central Spain. Obsessed with the chivalric romances of the Middle Ages, he loses his sanity and decides to become a knight-errant, renaming himself Don Quixote. He chooses a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, promising him the governorship of an island. The duo embarks on a series of adventures, with Don Quixote seeking to right wrongs and bring justice to the world, driven by his absurdly outdated moral code and understanding of reality. The novel is famous for its satirical examination of the discrepancy between Quixote's fantasy world and the actual world of 17th-century Spain. This theme is most famously illustrated in the episode where Don Quixote fights windmills, mistaking them for giant monsters. Throughout their journeys, the pair encounters thieves, prostitutes, a chain gang, and various other characters, often causing more harm than good in their attempts to help. "Don Quixote" explores themes of truth and justice, the transition from the old world to the new, and the idea of madness versus sanity. Cervantes employs a narrative structure that includes stories within stories, allowing him to critique the social and literary conventions of his time. The novel has had a profound influence on the development of prose fiction and is considered a precursor to the modern novel. It is celebrated for its humor, moral integrity, and its deep humanity, offering a complex reflection on the nature of reality and the importance of empathy.