A very good and quite rare copy of Cruikshank's Omnibus, Illustrated with one hundred engravings on steel and wood. This is the 1870 "New Edition," a presentation copy signed by the illustrator just a year before his death at the age of 85. Cruikshank has signed on the Title page; "To John Rae Esq. LL.D with the kind regards of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Cruikshank, September 27th, 1876." Beneath the Title the illustrator has written, "84th birthday." (Cruikshank was born on the 27th of September 1792).  In 1841 Following the success of his illustrations for Charles Dickens including, Sketches by Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (1837–38) and Oliver Twist (1838), Cruikshank began a new periodical with his friend, British author and journalist  Laman Blanchard. It originally came out in nine monthly parts from May 1841 to January 1842, and it poked fun at current events and popular pastimes as well as containing short stories and songs. Omnibus was not a success and ended after just eight issues. Contributors included Cruikshank's fried W.M. Thackeray, who wrote ‘The King of Brentford’s Testament. Omnibus features 22 etchings on steel and 78 woodcut illustrations. Condition: 8vo. 300pp. with the publishers red cloth boards with gilt print. Recent restoration includes a new spine and endpapers. The original cloth title has been laid down on the new spine. Edges and corners are worn with some rubbing to the cloth boards and several small stains to the front. The interior is in nice condition with some toning and foxing to a few pages. Many of the steel etchings still have tissue guards present, although several are detached from the book.  
 
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