Hawbuck Grange, c.1920, Robert Smith Surtees Subscription Edition, Illustrated
 
Bibliographic Details
 
Title: Hawbuck Grange; or, The Sporting Adventures of Thomas Scott, Esq.
Author: Robert Smith Surtees (1803–1864)
Illustrators: H. K. Browne (“Phiz”) & W. T. Maud
Edition: Subscription Edition, circa 1920
Publisher: Bradbury, Agnew & Co., from original plates; printed at The Whitefriars Press, London & Tonbridge
Format: Hardback, 8vo
Pagination: 265 pages text + 30-page biographical sketch on Surtees + 30-page essay on John Leech’s illustrations
Illustrations: 8 hand-coloured steel engravings, 13 full-page engravings, additional illustrations in text ((Please note that the plate stated to be on page 264 is actually the frontispiece).
 
Physical Description & Condition
 
Binding
 
Handsome publisher’s red cloth binding, elaborately decorated in gilt, black, and blind embossing on front board and spine; rear board with embossed border. The binding remains robust and attractive. Wear includes:
Discolouration and fading to spine
Small hole at spine edge adjoining rear board
Light rubbing at edges, with a few tiny rips
Occasional light marks to cloth
 
Overall, a very presentable example of this decorative edition.
 
Interior
 
Pages lightly tanned with darker endpapers, as expected for age
Foxing to pastedowns, endpapers, and prelims; occasional light foxing elsewhere
Roughly cut edges, some uneven, with very small page-edge rips from cutting – not affecting text or illustrations
No inscriptions, annotations, or library marks
Binding secure overall; slight crack between pp. 194–195, minimal and all leaves firm
All 265 pages of main text present, with supplementary 30 + 30 pages of commentary
 
A clean and solid copy of this striking subscription edition.
 
About the Author
 
Robert Smith Surtees (1803–1864) was a celebrated English sporting writer, best remembered for his satirical hunting novels, which captured the humour, manners, and follies of the English gentry. His works, including Jorrocks’ Jaunts and Jollities and Handley Cross, remain classics of Victorian sporting literature.
 
About the Illustrators
 
Hablot Knight Browne (“Phiz”) (1815–1882), famous for his illustrations to Dickens, brings his sharp comic style to Surtees’ sporting novels.
W. T. Maud (1865–1903), an English artist and illustrator, contributed sporting and humorous scenes that complemented Surtees’ lively prose.
 
Work Summary
 
First published in 1847, Hawbuck Grange follows Tom Scott as he tours different foxhunting packs across England. With a blend of satire, social observation, and sporting adventure, Surtees paints a vivid picture of the hunting world of the 19th-century gentry.
 
This subscription edition, dating from around 1920, retains the plates of the original Bradbury, Agnew & Co. edition, with fine hand-coloured engravings and supplementary essays on Surtees and John Leech.
 
Dimensions
 
Measurements: approx. 22.6 cm x 15.4 cm x 3.3 cm
Weight: approx. 773 grams