1854 Scarce First Hand-Coloured Edition - The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk

Author: George Cruikshank (editor and illustrator).
Title: The History of Jack & the Bean-Stalk (George Cruikshank’s Fairy Library).
Publisher: London, David Bogue, 86 Fleet Street, [1854]. First Edition, First Hand-Coloured Issue.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7 x 5.5 inches. 
Pages: 32 pages.
Binding: Good to very good original pictorial printed wrappers illustrated in black by Cruikshank. A charming copy of this fragile publication, with both outer hinges professionally repaired by a previous owner, now tight and secure. Some minor wear and light age-toning typical of mid-Victorian wrappers (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, there is a faint stain to the inner upper margin of the covers, not affecting the text block - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Overall a remarkably well-preserved survival of this notoriously perishable edition.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, clean text throughout, occasional scattered foxing - primarily to plates and borders - as shown). No tears or losses to pages. 
Illustrations: Scarce FIRST HAND-COLOURED EDITION, containing six hand-coloured etched plates, presenting a total of eight scenes, all drawn and etched by George Cruikshank. These include: 

1. Jack climbing the bean-stalk
2. Jack aiding a poor old woman
3. Who turns out to be a fairy
4. Who gives him the magic bean
5. Jack getting the golden hen from the giant
6. Jack and the fairy harp escaping from the giant
7. The fairies tying the giant in the bean-stalk
8. Jack bringing the giant prisoner to King Alfred

All plates are present and finely hand-coloured, with bright, well-preserved washes that enhance Cruikshank’s expressive Victorian line work.

Estimate: (USD 750–1000).

The book: A very scarce first hand-coloured edition of George Cruikshank’s Jack & the Bean-Stalk, forming part of his celebrated Fairy Library—a series created in direct response to the growing commercial success of German and French fairy tales and to advocate for a more wholesome, moralized English tradition.

Published by David Bogue in the mid-1850s, the hand-coloured issue of Jack & the Bean-Stalk is notably rare. Most surviving copies appear in plain black-and-white; fully coloured examples such as this one were produced in very small numbers and seldom appear on the market. Hand-colouring emphasizes Cruikshank’s lively, dramatic line work and adds a vivid theatricality to Jack’s ascent, the fairy interventions, and the giant’s lumbering pursuit.

Wrappers from the Fairy Library series are notoriously delicate and often found heavily damaged or replaced. This example preserves the original cover design — an exuberant Victorian border of foxgloves, foliage, and fairy tableaux — and is structurally sound thanks to sympathetic hinge repair. Internally, the colouring remains bright and charming, making this one of the finest collectible formats of the tale.

The author & illustrator: George Cruikshank (1792–1878), one of the greatest illustrators of the 19th century, rose to fame through his satirical prints, political caricatures, and his collaborations with Charles Dickens (Sketches by Boz, Oliver Twist). In the 1850s, he turned his attention to children’s literature, launching the Fairy Library both as an artistic endeavour and a counter-movement to what he perceived as the moral laxity of contemporary fairy tales.

His illustrations — etched with crisp precision and animated by expressive faces and exaggerated movement — are masterworks of Victorian storytelling. The hand-coloured plates found in this early issue represent the most desirable state of Cruikshank’s fairy-tale imagery, each plate enlivened by delicate washes of watercolor that bring drama, humour, and humanity to the scenes.