1855 The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith – Illustrated by the Etching Club

Author: Oliver Goldsmith. Illustrated by the Etching Club (T. Creswick, C. W. Cope, H. J. Townsend, F. Tayler, T. Webster, R. Redgrave, J. C. Horsley, C. Stonhouse, and others).
Title: The Deserted Village.
Publisher: London, Joseph Cundall; printed by Sampson Low and Son, 47 Ludgate Hill, 1855.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8" x 5.5".
Pages: 46 pages + publisher's catalog.
Binding: Exquisite and very good full crimson-red-brown publisher’s morocco leather binding, richly decorated in blind with floral and geometric panels, and with gilt-stamped title to front cover and spine. Raised bands to spine with gilt devices (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.  A superb presentation.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown,  early ownership inscription (“L. M. Simmons, Dec. 7, 1855”) on the preliminary blank.  - as shown). Marbled endpapers. Every page is interleaved with protective blank sheets. Each printed leaf remains fresh, protected by the original interleaving.
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout with a full suite of fine wood-engraved plates after etchings by members of the Etching Club, among them leading Victorian artists such as Thomas Creswick, Charles West Cope, Richard Redgrave, and Frederick Tayler. These are based on the celebrated earlier etchings, the copper plates for which had been destroyed, making this edition the only affordable form in which the imagery was later issued.

Estimate: (USD 250 – 300).

The book: The Deserted Village (1770) is Oliver Goldsmith’s most famous pastoral poem, a poignant reflection on rural depopulation, the decline of traditional village life, and the social changes of 18th-century England. This 1855 edition, richly illustrated by the Etching Club, embodies the Victorian revival of Goldsmith’s work and presents it in one of its most artistically appealing forms. The presence of interleaved blank sheets between each printed page makes this copy particularly well-preserved and unique.

The author: Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774) was an Anglo-Irish writer, poet, and physician. Best known for The Vicar of Wakefield, She Stoops to Conquer, and The Deserted Village, he remains a central figure in 18th-century English literature, celebrated for his graceful style and moral vision.

The illustrators (Etching Club): The Etching Club, active in mid-19th century Britain, brought together some of the most talented artists of the Victorian era. Their collaborative editions of English classics are treasured for their artistic unity and high-quality illustration, elevating literary works into prized art books.