Three CDV portraits of English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray comprise this lot, each by a prominent London studio: two by Herbert Watkins, 215 Regent Street, and one by Caldesi, Blanford & Co., 13 Pall Mall East, all produced during the final years of the novelist's life in the early 1860s. The Caldesi card presents Thackeray full-length and standing beside a draped curtain and classical column, dressed in a dark frock coat and light trousers, his hands clasped before him, spectacles on his face, and his expression composed. The two Watkins portraits show Thackeray seated and turned to his left in pure profile and in a near-frontal three-quarter bust, both capturing his heavy-set frame, distinctive curling white hair, and cravat tied loosely at the throat of a wide-lapeled coat.

The profile Watkins view is among the most sculptural likenesses made of Thackeray, the strong side light defining the soft contours of his face and the curl of his hair against a plain warm-toned ground. The three-quarter Watkins view adds wire-framed spectacles and a watch chain visible at the waistcoat, and a Semper Fidelis sun device appears on both Watkins reverses. Caldesi's full-length image provides the only standing view of the three, with a carved chair and studio drapery visible in the background.

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was among the foremost novelists of the Victorian era, best known for Vanity Fair (1848), his satirical panorama of English society set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, as well as Pendennis, The History of Henry Esmond, and Barry Lyndon. A rival in stature to Dickens and a founding contributor to Punch magazine, he died suddenly in December 1863, and the notation "The late Mr W M Thackery" on the reverse of the third card confirms it was inscribed or sold posthumously.

Reverses bear penciled inscriptions reading "Tho Thacray" and "The late Mr W M Thackery / 1/6 / d/t," with dealer notations "5/09/15 / LOGHF / Eb," "5/09/15 / LOGHX / Eb," and "3/15/16 / DOLGZ / Eb" respectively. Caldesi's imprint notes patronage by Her Majesty and distribution through P & D Colnaghi & Scottace.