Poems by Thomas Hood (2 Vols Complete., 1846, 2nd Ed.)
 
Author: Thomas Hood
Edition: 1846, Second Edition
Publisher: Edward Moxon, Dover Street, London; Printed by Bradbury & Evans, Whitefriars, London
Binding: Green cloth over boards; gilt titles; blind-stamped borders; panelled spines
Size: 18 × 11.5 × 2.2 cm (each)
Weight: Approx. 620 g (both volumes together)
 
Pages present
 
Volume I: vii + 270 pp., plus publisher’s catalogue at the front and rear. All pages present.
Volume II: viii + 281 pp., plus publisher’s catalogue at the rear. All pages present.
 
Book Overview
 
A charming and well-preserved two-volume set of Poems by Thomas Hood, second edition (1846), featuring a frontispiece bust engraving in Volume I (with tissue guard). The attractive green cloth bindings exhibit classic mid-Victorian aesthetics, retaining bright gilt titling and subtle mouldings.
 
Historical Context & Collectability
 
Thomas Hood was a beloved Victorian poet known for blending humour with social insight. First published in 1846, this edition is in notably good condition. The combination of engraved frontispiece, elegant cloth binding, and both publisher’s catalogues makes this set especially collectible for admirers of 19th-century English poetry.
 
About the author
 
Thomas Hood (1799–1845) was an English poet and humourist, admired for blending wit with social conscience. He is best known for The Song of the Shirt, a powerful protest poem about industrial poverty, and for shorter comic and satirical pieces that were widely read in the Victorian period. Hood wrote for periodicals and cultivated a popular readership, his work combining pathos and humour in a distinctive voice.
 
Exterior Condition
 
Cloth boards intact and structurally sound
Moderate wear at edges, corners, and spine ends
Some fading and light stains; small lean to the Volume I spine
 
Interior Condition
 
Top edge black pages
Clean, lightly tanned interiors with occasional marks and minimal foxing
Occasional stains and darker patches of tanning in the preliminary pages of volume I
Both volumes bear neat ink stamp “E. N. A.” on front pastedown
Pages are roughly cut, adding to their period charm
Pages largely increased, with only the very occasional small fold
Very occasional small edge tears, not affecting text and small rips in the inner margins between the back pastedowns and endpapers
Extremely light gutter cracks between a few pages – hardly noticeable
All pages present, securely bound, including publisher’s catalogues