Description: Original India Proof etching, and a signed presentation copy of; 'The Triumph of Cupid: A Reverie'. Portrait of George Cruikshank.' Cruikshank's best-known illustration. It shows the famed artist, a spaniel on his knee, enjoying a pipedream, surrounded by dozens of people and fantasy creatures. Look closely and you will see a miniature Cruikshank seen making a portrait of the artist himself – so there are three self-portraits in all. This self-portrait appeared on page one of Cruikshank's Table Book of 1845 as well as the new edition in 1870. 
 
Condition: Overall dimension 12" x 15" with the etching itself 9 1/2 x 6 1/2".  A presentation copy, inscribed beneath the engraving in graphite; " From George Cruikshank to his dear friend Charles M. Kent April 17th, 1867." The signature and inscription are in near fine condition. Overall, the etching is in very good or better condition. A bit of toning with a few small spots. Purchased in the early 1900's from Boston Bookseller, Charles E. Lauriate Co.
 
*“It was the custom of the artist,” according to his nephew, Percy Cruikshank, “before parting with his plates, to have India-paper proofs of the etchings, and this being ‘before letters’—that is, before the title was engraved on the plate—which made them the more valuable.
 
Cruikshank's friend, Charles M. Kent (1823-1902) was an English poet, biographer, and journalist, born in London. At the age of twenty-two in 1845 he became the editor of the London Sun newspaper. The Sun was one of the first journals to publish book reviews, and it was through his review of Dombey and Son that he first met Charles Dickens and later George Cruikshank in what would become a lifelong friendship with both men.