[MAYHEW, HENRY]. The Magic of Kindness; Or, The Wondrous Story of the Good Huan. London: Darton and Co, n.d. [c. 1849].
FIRST EDITION; leather bound, hardcover, small octavo (16.5 x 10 x 2.5 cm), pp. viii, 296. Handsomely bound in three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, cloth sides, t.e.g., marbled endpapers, illustrated by George Cruikshank and Kenny Meadows, tissue-guarded frontispiece, printed footnotes. Printed by W. Lewis and Son. Condition: VERY GOOD. Binding tight and secure, the covers very well-preserved. Interior with some light toning and a couple of fox spots. Scarce.
Notes: First edition of this classic work with illustrations by George Cruikshank and Kenny Meadows, in very good condition, and probably bound by Bayntun but unsigned. One of the co-founders of Punch Magazine, Henry Mayhew was known for his work as a social researcher, publishing an extensive series of newspaper articles in the Morning Chronicle that was later compiled into the book series London Labour and the London Poor (1851), a ground breaking and influential survey of the city's poor. Elaborately illustrated, The Magic of Kindness contains a selection of tales illustrating the power of love and benevolence.
