folio (449 x 293mm.), FIRST EDITION, 48 portraits on 47 mezzotint plates by John Faber the younger after Sir Godfrey Kneller, engraved dedication plate to the Duke of Somerset and mezzotint title page, nineteenth-century full panelled calf by Root, without the ten pages of text (not bound in this copy), rebacked preserving original spine
[with:] Caulfield, James. Memoirs of the Celebrated Persons composing the Kit-Cat Club; with a Prefatory Account of the Origin of the Association. Hurst, Robinson and Company, 1821, folio (338 x 240mm.), 48 engraved plates after Kneller, later tree calf gilt, morocco label, raised bands, some slight spotting and sunning (2)

John Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotint Portraits, (London, 1878-83), 208

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A FINE AND COMPLETE SERIES OF THE MEZZOTINTS ENGRAVED BY FABER AFTER KNELLER OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMOUS "KIT-KAT CLUB."

The Club obtained its name from the tavern where the members originally met, run by Christopher Cat (or Kat), famous for his "Kit-cat" mutton pies. Luminaries included nearly all the most powerful Whig politicians from 1688 to 1710, and there was much gossip in the period about the activities of the members. By 1703 the group had grown too large for Christopher Cat's tavern, and soon thereafter Tonson used the members' dues to build a special clubroom at his residence in Barn Elms, Surrey. Around this time Tonson commissioned Sir Godfrey Kneller (himself❀ a member) to paint portraits of 🐎forty-eight of the Kit-Cats—including the Dukes of Newcastle and Somerset, the Earls of Dorset and Essex, and others including Cornwallis and Godolphin—as well as Tonson himself (these originals are housed in the National Portrait Gallery). This series of plates, by the leading mezzotint artist of his era John Faber the younger, was issued by Tonson in the 1730s.