The Comic Almanack by George Cruikshank (1835-1853)

Bibliographical Details

Author / Illustrator: George Cruikshank

Title: The Comic Almanack for 1835[-1853]

Full Title Page Subtitle: 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 and Etched by George Cruikshank.

Publication History: London: Imprinted for Charles Tilt (1835–1841); Imprinted for Tilt and Bogue (1842–1843); Published by David Bogue (1844–1853).

First editions. A complete set of nineteen small octavo volumes. Features 195 etched plates by George Cruikshank, including five folding frontispieces (four of which are hand-coloured), along with wood-engraved text illustrations throughout. Complete with the additional hand-coloured 'Natural History' plate in the 1837 volume (of a sunbird).

Historical Context & Significance

Precursor to Punch: Serialized annually across nineteen years (1835–1853), Cruikshank’s The Comic Almanack served as a vital bridge between Regency caricature and Victorian serial humour. Its mix of social commentary, seasonal satire, and parodic almanac conventions established a popular format that heavily influenced the founding of Punch magazine in 1841.

Early Literary Contributions: Beyond Cruikshank's illustrations, the series included contributions from prominent writers of the period. Notably, William Makepeace Thackeray published early satirical pieces in these volumes—such as Cox’s Diary (1837) and The Barber’s Coxcomb (1840)—writing under the pseudonymous editor persona "Rigdum Funnidos, Gent."

Notable Provenance: The set bears the ex-libris bookplate of Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870–1935). Bishop was a prominent American collector, aviator, and president of the Aero Club of America. His collection was sold in a landmark 1938 auction at the American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, which remains an important benchmark in 20th-century bibliographical history.

Social Satire & Illustration: Plates such as the hand-coloured folding frontispiece, "Probable Effects of Over-Population" (1851), offer a vivid look at Victorian social anxieties regarding urbanization, industrial congestion, and demographic expansion during the mid-19th century.

A complete set; boxes have been repaired, but are cracking in places (still structurally sound); some of the spines of the almanacs have disintegrated; some covers have detached.
The collection of 6 clam-shell boxes is 270mm x 190 mm x 130mm

R35,000