MALVERN. Drawn and Published by H. Lamb. [C. Graf, Printer to her Majesty.] [n.p., n.d. but ca.

8vo, 180 x 140mm, folding colour lithograph panorama in 9 panels, hinged on verso to form one long sheet, 110 x 17cms, with printed captions running along the tail; some of the original linen hinges neatly replaced, with some further discrete paper repairs along some of the folds; some dust-soiling and foxing, with some light wear to image along folds; retaining original linen pull tab at fore-edge of first panel; mounted into original brown blindstamped publisher's cloth, lettered in gilt on upper cover, some light sunning to spine, rear cover a little stained and soiled; very good. Scarce, so far unrecorded. A charming folding lithograph panorama of Malvern, looking from the east of the town, giving a fine view of the hills and the burgeoning town below. Henry Lamb (fl. 1826-1861) was an artist and lithographer, who opened his Fancy Repository Shop in Cheltenham in around 1824. Itself a burgeoning spa town, with good links to London, Lamb soon opened a second shop in the town. His links with London brought him into contact with the noted lithographers Charles Joseph Hullmandel (1789-1850), Godefroy Engelmann (1788-1839), and as here, C. Graf (flr. 1824-1852). Publishing a number of pictorial souvenir works including 'Sketches of Malvern' (1830), 'Views of Cheltenham and its Vicinity' (printed in Malvern in 1832), as well as a peepshow 'Cheltenhamorama' (1832), as some point he opened his 'Royal Library and Bazaar' in Malvern itself, which sold fancy items, books, and stationery. It was visited by Darwin's young family during one of their early visits to the town. Lamb was to publish a number of souvenir print books of the town, especially once it had become a popular spa destination. Located at the foot of the Malvern Hills and famous for its numerous beneficial springs, Malvern became a popular centre for hydrotherapy during the 19th century, with two leading exponents, Dr James Wilson, and Dr James Manby Gully, establishing clinics in the town during the early 1840s. Several large hotels and guest houses in the town date from this time, as it became a popular 'water cure' destination, attracting a stream of celebrated visitors including Queen Adelaide, Thomas Carlyle, Florence Nightingale, Tennyson, Wilberforce, and Charles Darwin, who visited on a number of occasions, both for his own health, as well as in an attempt to improve the health of his daughter Anne (or Annie). Sadly she succumbed to illness and died during a visit in 1851, and is buried in Great Malvern Priory churchyard. The extension of the railway from Worcester to Malvern Link in 1859, and then the opening of Great Malvern station in 1860, further boosted tourism, with factories from as far as Manchester organising day trips for their employees. The town was included in the 1887 Baedeker's 'London-Worcester-Hereford' itinerary, which it described as 'an inland health resort, famous for its bracing air and pleasant situation'. Several routes up the hill begin from the centre of the town, with donkey's available for hire to take visitors up and down the hill, the most famous route being that past St Anne's Well on the way up to the Worcestershire Beacon. Not located on OCLC; Wellcome Collection 18286i a separate print of the first two panels.…