ANCIENT MYSTERIES DESCRIBED, Especially the English miracle plays, founded on the Apocryphal New Testament story, . including notices of ecclesiastical shows, the festivals of fools and asses, the English boy-bishop, the descent into hell, the Lord Mayor's show, the Guildhall giants, Christmas carols, &c.

HONE, William.

Published by London: Printed for William Hone sic, 1823

About this Item

8vo, (225x145mm), [2], [2],x,13-299p, the contents leaf bound before the praface. 13 engraved illustrations (one large folding) and including four woodcuts from earlier Christmas Carol sheets. Original black cloth, sides blind tooled, rebacked. Gift inscription, dated 1889, on the verso of the front free endleaf and the later bookplate of Martin Holmes. Dating editions of Hone's Ancient Mysteries is, like battling at cricket: 'a simple art fraught with difficulty.' The title page of this edition carries the date, 1823, of the first edition; however, it is printed entirely in black as opposed to red and black and there is no imprint of the printer, John M'Creery, on the recto of leaf 2O4, indeed the sections are not lettered at all, but are numbered. We suspect that this edition which has been reset and is clearly not a remainder issue bound up from sheets of the earlier edition, was printed in circa 1860. Seller Inventory # 19510

Bibliographic Details

Title: ANCIENT MYSTERIES DESCRIBED, Especially the ...

Publisher: London: Printed for William Hone sic

Publication Date: 1823

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: 1st Edition