Cockney Sportsmen, a complete set of four engravings by James Gillray, Bohn 1851

GILLRAY, James (1756-1815). Cockney Sportsmen. Complete suite of four satirical engravings.
 
London: Henry G. Bohn, 1851.
 
Complete set of four engraved plates from the original Gillray copperplates, each with engraved numbering upper right (492-495), originally published by H. Humphrey in 1800, but corresponding with the Henry G. Bohn folio edition of Gillray’s works. Plate/image size approximately 260 x 360mm.
 
Comprising:
Marking Game
Shooting Flying
Recharging
Finding a Hare
 
Light general toning and occasional spotting or handling wear to margins, edgewear and occasional short tear, but overall a well-preserved, very good suite.
 
A comic sporting sequence satirising inept urban cockney hunters attempting country shooting pursuits, progressing from spotting game to firing wildly, reloading, and finally discovering a hare. Originally issued in 1800 by Hannah Humphrey, Gillray’s principal publisher, the plates were later reissued by Henry G. Bohn from the original copperplates as part of a comprehensive nineteenth-century collected edition of Gillray’s works. Uncommon as a complete set.