London Types.

The rare special issue of Nicholson's London Types, in an uncommon variant vellum binding.

The Bus Driver was omitted from this edition and only appears in a simplified form on the front cover. The London types featuring in this edition are: Guardsman (The Horse Guards), Hawker (Kensington), Beef-Eater (The Tower), Sandwich-Man (Trafalgar Square), Coster (Hammersmith), Lady (Rotten Row), Bluecoat Boy (Newgate Street), Policeman (Constitution Hill), News-Boy (The City), Drum-Major (Wimbledon Common), Flower Girl (Any Corner), and a Barmaid (Any Bar).

Nicholson had been working with Heinemann since the mid-1890s. As well as designing their windmill device, Nicholson created a number of books for Heinemann, including An Almanac of twelve Sports (1898) and The Square Book of Animals (1899). The accompanying 'Quatorzains' in this work are by the poet, critic & literary editor W.E. Henley, best remembered today for his poetic evocation of Victorian stoicism 'Invictus', written in 1875.

First (Library) edition; 4to; printed on Japanese vellum, publisher's device to title, 12 full-page colour lithographed illustrations by Nicholson; publisher's variant binding vellum-backed pictorial vellum boards, spotted and toned, slightly splayed; accompanied by an envelope of related ephemera.