Ingoldsby, Thomas [Barham, Richard Harris] — The Jackdaw of Rheims

Richard Bentley London 44, 12 col illus. . HB. Small 4to (250x190mm), orig. blue dec. cloth, stamped in gilt and black, all edges gilt, ruled border to each page printed in red. Cloth lightly rubbed with only minor wear to extremities. Light scattered foxing, sligthly heavier at front and rear. Very good.. First standalone edition of Barham’s famous comedic poem with attractive chromolithographic illustrations. First serialised in <i>Bentley's Miscellany</i> in 1837 and later collected in <i>The Ingoldsby Legends</i>, this enduring Victorian classic tells the humorous tale of a mischievous jackdaw that steals the Cardinal's ring, becomes cursed with a terrible malady, and eventually repents to live out its days in pious sanctity. The poem remains a masterclass in light verse, celebrated for its complex, witty rhyme schemes and satire of medieval ecclesiastical legends..