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With four plates relating to Davy Crockett, here given his full first name of David, and thus the unusual Alken foray into an American subject, let alone one that isn't relating to foxhunting, equestrian sports or his usual fare. We see Davy Crockett in an elk hunt, fighting a bear with dogs and a dagger his hand drawn, and in a fist fight. Only one plate, about electioneering, doesn't ostensibly involve sport, although the implication is that there is no greater blood sport than politics. In this especially lively plate, among the background activities we see a black man, probably a slave, dancing barefoot, to a bemused audience and one white child endeavoring to dance alongside. Besides the Davy Crockett series, there is also a plate depicting a hunt in Quebec, bringing the total of New World scenes to five! In our view, the plates in this series also have more going on, a complexity, and a narrative exuberance is surpassing in the prolific Alken oeuvre, and "anecdote" undersells the richness of the illustrations. This work is, and was, an anthology of Alken's storytelling paintings, with most of the prints having appeared previously in a periodical such as The Sporting Review. That said, they are not mere restrikes, and the quality of the printing and hand-coloring -- the entirety of the production -- was obviously of the highest order. For that matter, the work, we believe, was nearly a one off collection of these plates. While there are other "Sporting Anecdote" titles by Alken, they are not the same as this. The plates were surely bound together either in 1839 or shortly thereafter, and the binding is contemporary to that. Oblong folio, 31.5 by 42 cm. 21 hand-colored plates, each with a long-ish caption which relates the anecdote being illustrated above. 21 plates are three more than called for. This being a work with a somewhat convoluted publishing history, given that the date of issue of the individual plates within vary. The plates are numbered, but irregularly as well. The second plate in the sequence is not numbered at all. One plate, 11, uses Roman numerals, unlike the others which use standard numbers. Then plate 13 missing the digit "1" and the last two plates, both pertaining to Davy Crockett, are numbered just "1", with the second digit position looking subtly erased. Most of the plates have long-ish captions, sometimes in verse, as to be expected since they are part and parcel with a story. Some of the textual humor may fall flat with a modern audience, but the visual humor, albeit of a slapstick nature, works its magic as well today as back when, in our view. Several of the plates, besides the Davy Crockett plate described above, have a political election angle to them. These and most plates tie into foxhunting and fox hunters inevitably. In two plates foxhunters are committing a nocturnal prank of painting houses furtively. Other surprises surely await even the most passionate of Alken admirers who haven't encountered this work before, we dare add. Paper pastedown has an intricate vine pattern in shallow, subtle relief, and the paper has a glossiness to it. Quite unusual, at least for this type of book. Condition: Starting lower front joint. Rubbing of front joint generally. Edgewear generally. Light age toning of the leaves, some finger smudges, etc. A few plates have become loose, or are torn away, lower left by the hinge, but otherwise, text block is solid and holding together overall. Minor blistering of yellow contemporary endpapers. Half Calf Textured paper pastedown on boards.
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