The Tours of Doctor Syntax, Vols. I-III

William Combe; Illustrator, Thomas Rowlandson

Published by R. Ackermann, 1820

c. 1820-23. 79 hand-colored aquatint plates. The Tour of Doctor Syntax, In Search of the Picturesque, V. I, 276 pp.; Second Tour, In Search of Consolation, V. II, 277 pp.; Third Tour, In Search of a Wife, V. III, 279 pp. The poetical adventures--and misadventures--of the good doctor. More critically, Britannica states, "All the Dr. Syntax books satirize the many 18th- and early 19th-century writers whose Tours, Travels, and Journeys were vehicles for sententious moralizing, uninspired raptures, and sentimental accounts of amorous adventures." The set is finely bound in full red-pebbled Morocco, five-banded spine with gilt lettering including "box" design on boards and tooled inner edges around red/gold/black/pink marbled endpapers. TEG. Original cover/spine bound in rear of books. V. I - Ninth ed., gutter splitting inside front page, cover spine hinges show worn, back cover has mark in upper left-hand corner. V. II - Third ed., cover spine hinges show slight wear, front cover has scrape in lower left-hand corner. V. III - inside front cover shows gutter wear, right-hand page corner creased, cover spine hinges show slight wear, front cover has light gold discoloration near outer edge, back cover has light indentations. All illustrations are bright though with some ghosting on opposite page, a bit of browning and foxing, a small smudge here and there. Seller Inventory # 000864

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Tours of Doctor Syntax, Vols. I-III
Publisher: R. Ackermann
Publication Date: 1820
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: Illustrated Edition