Charley Chalk, Or the Career of an Artist, Being Sketches from Real Life; Comprising a Narrative of His Extraordinary Adventures in Great Britain and Ireland, France and Greece

[1841] First edition in book form (originally published by by G Berger in nine monthly parts between July 1839 and March 1840).  vi, [2], 310pp, with engraved frontispiece, extra illustrated title page and seventeen further full page engravings, all by Jacob Parallel.  Half bound in brown calf’s leather over marbled boards, decorated spine with gilt titles on a red leather spine label.  Grey endpapers.  8vo.  Boards quite heavily worn, rubbed all round edges, right through on rounded corners, leather scuffed in places.  Text block edges toned.  Some occasional spotting throughout, plates and title pages heavily spotted with marginal toning, else internally neat, clean and tight.  

An early Victorian era picaresque novel, purportedly the memoirs of travelling artist, Charley Chalk, recording his adventures and experience at home in Britain and travelling through Ireland, France and Greece.  The novel was published anonymously with the illustrations credited to Jacob Parallel.  Parallel is likely a pseudonym and little seems known about him other than that he produced anpther set of plate illustrations for Master Humphrey’s Clock, also publsihed by Berger, in 1841.