Handly Cross by Surtees, Jorrocks, Illustrated by John Leech.

John Leech 1817-1864, was born in London on 29th August. He was educated at Charterhouse, and was set to study medicine. Luckily of rus his artistic talents got the better of him and he swapped the surgeon’s knife for the brush and pen.  His output showed extraordinary energy; he completed over 3000 drawings and cartoons for Punch. He had an elastic wit, which was both close to the bone and subtle. He was alive in a period rich with cartoonists all graphic humorists; Rowlandson, Gillray, Henry Bunbury, (Mr. Gambado), Howitt, Phiz, and many more including the prolific Henry Alken. Leech worked for the London Illustrated News.  He would draw onto polished wood blocks and they would be divided up and then engraved by multiple engravers and then printed. It was the equivalent of mass production of that period. This is a lithograph which would have been hand coloured. Sadly it is has spent a lot of time on acid board and is very dark, but I doubt that it could be cleaned. 

The writing on the print says, “come leep I say, you  ugly brute.”