Beauties of the Country: Or, Descriptions of Rural Customs, Objects, Scenery, and the Seasons.

First edition. Octavo, pp. xv, [1], 425, [3]. 26 wood-engravings including vignette to title page, and head-and tail-pieces for each month. Publisher's original dark green cloth with gilt titles to spine and Celtic knot design in blind to boards; citron end-papers. Inscribed by the author in ink to half-title 'To Mrs William Beattie with Thomas Miller's Sincere Respects Sept 19/1840'. Notes on the author and illustrator in blue ink c. 1930 by one 'G. Oyberry' to front free end-paper; pencil note attributing authorship of the notes by a later owner to foot of half-title. Light rubbing to extremities; corners bumped; spine a touch darkened. A little scattered light foxing. Inner hinge split between pp. 328 & 329 but text firmly holding. A very good copy. Scarce, especially as a signed copy. Chapters on natural history and seasonal customs and observations of England, arranged month-by-month. Author Thomas Miller (1807-1874) was one of the nineteenth century's most prolific working-class writers, who produced numerous works on rural subjects. Illustrator Ebeneezer Landells engraved most of the images in the work, and was regarded as one of the finest wood-engravers of his day, who regularly worked for Illustrated London News and Punch (though he wasn't a pupil of Thomas Bewick as stated in the note to the front of this volume). Jackson & Chatto, 'History of Wood Engraving', p. 544.…