ACCOMMODATION BILL

1850. PHILLIPS, Watts. AN ACCOMMODATION BILL. Drawn by Watts Phillips, which he trusts will be accepted by the public. [London]: D. Bogue, [n.d., circa 1850]. First edition. 18 leaves of plates, accordion fold, in the original illustrated paper boards. 5 1/2 by 3 7/8 in. (13.7 x 9.8 cm). Covers have a touch of rubbing and edgewear, and some general light soiling, else a fine and quite pleasing copy. Title information is taken from the illustrated cover. The story is a satire relating the trials of trying to recover a loan made to a friend; the back cover, showing a fly caught in a spider's web, provides a graphic summation of the tale. Watts Phillips (truncated) (1825-1874) was the only pupil of George Cruikshank. He was an early contributor to Punch, and the founder of the short-lived periodical Journal for Laughter. He gradually abandoned caricature and illustration for success as a dramatist and, less successfully, as a novelist. (D.N.B.; Houfe, Dict. of Brit. Bk. Illus. & Caric.). (Inventory #: 72577)