Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a dandy, a swell.

1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 58: Counts — was a term applied to men of wealth who joined heartily in general company.
1859		G.A. Sala Twice Round the Clock 232: Tremendous counts are the clerks in the secretary’s office, jaunty bureaucrats, who ride upon park hacks, and are ‘come for’ by ringlets in broughams at closing time.
1883		G.A. Sala in Illus. London News 21 Apr. 379, col. 2: Fops flourished before my time, but I can remember the ‘dandy,’ who was superseded by the count, the ‘toff,’ and other varieties of the ‘swell’ [F&H].