The Vicar of Wakefield. A Tale. Illustrated with twenty-four designs, by Thomas Rowlandson. With an introduction by George Saintsbury. London: Chiswick Press for Constable and Company Limited, 1926. Finely bound in attractive half dark green morocco leather by Bayntun Riviere of Bath. Spine with five raised bands, the compartments lettered and decorated in gilt. Green cloth on the boards, marbled endpapers & top edge in gilt.

Facsimile of the original 1817 edition, illustrated with 24 fine colour printed plates by Thomas Rowlandson, each with a tissue guard.

A handsome reissue of Rowlandson’s celebrated illustrations for Goldsmith’s classic novel, here finely printed by the Chiswick Press and introduced by the eminent critic George Saintsbury. This edition brings together one of the great 18th‑century English novels with the lively, satirical eye of Thomas Rowlandson, whose twenty‑four plates capture the humour, sentiment, and social observation that animate Goldsmith’s tale.

George Saintsbury’s introduction situates both author and illustrator within the broader tradition of English letters and caricature.