Shilling's Worth of Nonsense, By the Editors of Punch, or The London Charivari

London: Wm S Orr & Co, 1843 60 pgs. Engraved & Printed by Bradbury & Evans. Card covers printed in black ink, rubbed and soiled with small losses to spine, internally clean. In the early days of Punch Magazine, when it was struggling to keep afloat, the editors had the idea to issue a special Almanack for Christmas of 1841. It was a shocking success, selling 90,000 copies when regular issues of the magazine barely sold 6000 copies. The following year they issued, not only the annual Almanack, but also another Christmas publication, A Shilling's Worth of Nonsense, which would be reprinted every year until about 1850 when the magazine went through major changes in ownership and content. At the time that A Shilling's Worth of Nonsense was published the editors were Henry Mayhew, Mark Lemon and Joseph Stirling Coyne--one or all of them are likely responsible for the text. The cover is signed PHIZ (pseud. of Hablot Knight Brown). Many of the engravings are signed Evans, most likely Frederick Mullett Evans, even though Edmund Evans was also doing work for Punch at this time. The illustrations are not signed or credited. There is a frontispiece, plus 6 other plates printed in cream and black and smaller engravings in line throughout. The book contains satirical essays on the human condition. See Victorian Literature and Culture, Vol 43, No. 1 pgs 171-5. . Third Edition. Pictorial Wraps. Very Good/No Jacket. 12mo.