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DEAN, H[enry].
The Whole Art of Legerdemain: Or, HOCUS POCUS in Perfection: By which the meanest Capacity may perform the Whole ART without a Teacher. Together with the Use of all the Instruments belonging thereto. To Which Is Now Added, Abundance of New and Rare Inventions the like never before in Print, but much desired by many.
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DEAN, H[enry].
The Whole Art of Legerdemain: Or, HOCUS POCUS in Perfection: By which the meanest Capacity may perform the Whole ART without a Teacher. Together with the Use of all the Instruments belonging thereto. To Which Is Now Added, Abundance of New and Rare Inventions the like never before in Print, but much desired by many.
Description:
pp. 108. Woodcut frontispiece within the pagination, numerous text woodcuts. Original unlettered canvas binding with the slightest wear to the head of the spine; the boards, from the spine to the edge of the front board is 93 mm. at the top and 90 mm. at the lower edge and the resultant diminution of c.3mm. accounts for the shaving of the book-block prior to binding; the shaving has reduced the fore-edge margins throughout with the occasional loss of some letters. This is entirely original - these canvas bindings were produced by specialist binders for inexpensive books, either school text books or those sold door-to-door by pedlars. Two leaves have original paper flaws - in one of these, the top corner had been creased prior to printing resulting in the final letters at the end of the first six lines recto only to have been misprinted; in the other, the lower corner has a flaw with the paper missing affecting the letters of the last words on the bottom two lines on each side and the catchword recto. The final page shows a very small patch adhered to the rear paste-down and the loss of five letters, most of which are in fact readable in mirror from the paste-down. All these defects may be viewed in the images posted on the web-site. In all other ways, the text is in excellent clean condition, both joints firm and the binding with scarcely any wear.
*ESTC T127082 - one copy in the UK at the British Library; one copy in the USA at the New York Public Library. There are two variants of this issue distinguished by the catchword on page 14. In the above offered issue, the catchword is 'each'. It is a revised edition by Henry Dean of the anonymous work 'Hocus pocus junior'.
Printed and Sold by T. Sabine, No. 81, Shoe Lane, Fleet Street, and by all Booksellers in Town and Country. London.
Date Published: No date [1790?]. Ninth Edition, with large Additions and Amendments. 12mo.
Stock No. 62376
Price: £4,000.00