George Cruikshank · Temperance Movement · Victorian Social History
Drunken Husbands and Victorian Poverty — The Domestic Habits of the People, with George Cruikshank Illustrations, 1852
Original printed temperance pamphlet with detached but retained wrappers and the original Gutta Percha Company advertisement.
Catalogue details
Description
A striking mid-Victorian pamphlet concerned with domestic habits, temperance and the consequences of excessive drinking. Its printed wrapper promises six illustrations by George Cruikshank, and gives a list of their subjects: The Drunken Husband, The Drunken Wife, The Drunken Mother, The Scottish Turnpikes, The Tea Gardens, and The Low Lodging House.
- Dimensions
- Measurements gladly provided on request
- Format
- Original printed temperance pamphlet
- Illustrations
- Printed wrapper promises six illustrations by George Cruikshank
- Wrappers
- Detached but retained
- Additional material
- Original Gutta Percha Company advertisement retained
- Condition
- Please consult the photographs for condition. Additional photographs are available on request.
Shipping quoted by destination before payment
Historical context & sources
First Thousand and the Paperback Reading Public
The original front wrapper bears the issue statement “First Thousand” and the price One Shilling, alongside the advertising line “Reading for the Fireside, Steam-boat, and the Rail.” It was distributed by Charles Gilpin and others, including J. B. Gilpin in Dublin, documenting the publication’s advertised connection with the Irish book trade. “First Thousand” is a printer’s or publisher’s issue statement, not proof that this individual copy is number one.
A Gutta Percha Advertisement on the Rear Wrapper
The original rear printed wrapper is itself a remarkable document of Victorian industrial marketing. An illustrated advertisement addresses shoemakers about attaching gutta-percha soles and lists applications in manufacturing, domestic wares, surgery, telegraphy, shipping and other industries. The advertisement is original to the pamphlet as preserved, not a separate later insert.
