The First Tour of Doctor Syntax, In Search of the Picturesque: A Poem

by William Combe

Volume One

Illustrated with Eighty-One Plates by T. Rowlandson

London: Nattali and Bond

1855

[Bound with: Volume Two: The Second Tour of Doctor Syntax, In Search of Consolation: A Poem; & Volume Three: The Third Tour of Doctor Syntax, In Search of a Wife: A Poem]

Thick octavo, 272p, 277p, 279 pages, bound in period full leather. Marbled endpapers and edges. Profuely illustrated throughout with full-page hand-colored plates. Both boards detached, damage to spine, some foxing and discoloration, rubbing and wear, else in good condition.

The Tour of Doctor Syntax, written by William Combe, is a satirical classic that explores the misadventures of the fictional Doctor Syntax, a clergyman with aspirations far greater than his abilities. In the first tour, Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, Combe sends his protagonist into the countryside to capture England’s scenic beauty in sketches—a quest destined for hilarity as Syntax’s lack of skill and a series of mishaps undercut his efforts. Combe continues the satire in Doctor Syntax in Search of Consolation, where the reverend embarks on a journey to ease his own disappointments, only to meet with further comic misfortunes. The third installment, Doctor Syntax in Search of a Wife, sees Syntax pursuing companionship, resulting in a tangle of romantic misunderstandings that highlight the absurdities of courtship. Complemented by Thomas Rowlandson's iconic illustrations, the book marries Combe’s witty verse with Rowlandson's vivid caricatures, capturing and parodying the social pretensions and obsessions of early 19th-century England.

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