19th Century Literature

New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, 1819 - 1820.. Seven parts bound in two volumes. Large octavo. 19th century calf, spines gilt extra. Bound without wrappers and adverts. Early manuscript index on front binder's blank in both volumes. Spines darkened and slightly crazed, joints a bit worn and slightly cracked in places (but sound), occasional spotting and foxing to Part I, brown spot in fore-edge of Part VII, clean 5 cm tear in top edge of leaf 63/4 of Part VII, with no loss, still a good set in contemporary dress. Old morocco faced slipcase. First editions, first printings, of each part of Irving's second major sequence publication, with BAL's state 'A' of the text on page 240. Neither the terminal blank for Part I, nor the slip against piracy that was inserted in some copies of Part II are present. THE SKETCH BOOK is among Irving's masterworks, printing for the first time in complete book form "Rip Van Winkle" (Pt. I), "Old Christmas" (Pt. V), and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Pt. VI). "That… Read More

8vo. London: Chapman & Hall, MDCCCLIX (1859). 8vo, [ix], [1]-254, 16 etched plates including frontis and title vignette. Full olive green fine-diaper cloth, entirely stamped in blind with a three line border which encloses a rectangular frame within which is is an ornament of leaves and stems in each corner and a chain-like design with each link enclosing a four-leafed flower. Housed in a green cloth slip-case. The head and tail of the backstrip are very slightly bumped with some sun toning; minor scattered foxing mostly near plates and some off-setting; a good clean copy in a beautifully preserved original cloth binding. § First edition in the rare secondary green cloth binding. Two of the eight internal flaws identified by Smith as necessary for the first issue have been corrected: “l” and “f” are printed on p.116 and 213 is numbered correctly. Of the latter point Eckel observes “The absence of this error does not invalidate a first edition but it fixes the priority of printing” and… Read More

John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head. London. 1894. FIRST EDITION. One of just 50 large paper copies printed on hand made paper. Small 4to.(8.4 X 6.3 inches). Original buckram with gilt lettering to the spine. Attractive floral designs by Charles Shannon in gilt to the spine and both boards. Spine and hinge edges of boards cloth is darkened but the gilt is still bright. Fore and bottom page edges are untrimmed. Offsetting to the blank free endpapers otherwise a bright and clean copy throughout. --- Mason 365.

New York: The Lakeside Press, 1930. First Edition Thus. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition thus, limited to 1,000 copies. Three volumes in publisher's acetate jackets, in aluminum slipcase. Presentation copy signed by Rockwell Kent on the front free end paper of Volume I, "Inscribed with affectionate friendship to Putzie - Rockwell Kent, 1950." Volumes II and III bear Rockwell Kent-illustrated bookplates of Marie Luise Hinrichs. Near Fine. Narrow strips of sunning to spine cloth at ends, light rubbing to cloth at extremities and light abrasions to black topstains. Pages toned and with offsetting from illustrations. Acetate wrappers are wrinkled and shrunken with age, as is typical, and show a bit of chipping and edge wear, with some separation starting between the acetate and a paper flap on both volumes II and III; acetate on volume II with light staining. Aluminum slipcase is lightly worn, bumped at top and bottom edge. A stunning presentation copy, inscribed by Kent, and with bookplates designed… Read More

New York: William S. Gottsberger, 1886. First American Edition. Very Good. Six volumes. First American edition, all first printings with properly dated title pages and publisher's imprint on all copyright pages. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt lettering and black stamping, with volumes ranging from Very Good to Near Fine. Softening to spine ends, with Volume II of Before Tilsit showing shallow loss at spine ends. Volume I of The Invasion with owner name stamp on title page; neat owner name on first page of text of volume II of The Invasion and volume II of Borodino. Bookplate in volume 1 of Before Tilsit and volume I of The Invasion. A handsome set of the first American edition of this classic of Russian literature. Translated from the French edition by Clara Bell.

Paris: Furne, |Dubochet, |Hetzel & Paulin|puisAlexandre Houssiaux, 1842. Fine. Furne, Dubochet, Hetzel & Paulin puisAlexandre Houssiaux, Paris 1842-1855, 14,5x22cm, 20 volumes reliés. - Première édition collective sous le titre d'oeuvres, présentant, en même temps que nombre de textes en édition originale, une nouvelle version de la Comédie humaine, revue, remaniée par Balzac. Cette édition est aussi la première édition illustrée. Reliures en demi chagrin bleu, dos très légèrement éclaircis à quatre fin nerfs sertis de pointillés dorés et ornés de triples caissons estampés à froid aux centres desquels figurent un fleuron doré, plats de papier marbré, gardes et contreplats de papier à la cuve, reliures de l'époque. Quelques rousseurs sur certains tomes, une petite tache à la page 119 du tome 4, une autre à la page 321 du tome 8, une déchirure sur la page de faux-titre du tome 9, une petite tache d'eau en angle de la page 449 et sur les suivantes du tome 10,… Read More

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, with all points including the infamous "curved fly" on page 283. Published in 1884-1885. Publisher's half morocco, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, 173 text illustrations after E. W. Kemble. ********Copies in the original half morocco binding with the "curved fly" illustration are the rarest of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Less than two weeks before publication, the publisher Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies in half morocco. This copy was printed in 1884, before the "curved fly" page was replaced.
First Issue Points:*Page 9 with uncorrected "decided" (this was later corrected to "decides")*At p. 13 the erroneous page reference "88" before being changed to "87"*At p. 57 the misprint "with the was" before it was corrected to "with the saw.
*The "curved fly" Illustration.*Frontispiece Portrait of Twin with tablecloth underneath.Condition:This book… Read More

New York, 1865. 7 1 4 x 4 1 2 inches. 72pp. Original publisher's brown sand-grain cloth with blind-stamped triple-rule frame, front cover with bold gilt-blocked circular background in horizontal weave, surrounded by single circular gilt frame; the back cover with exact same motif, but in blind. A FINE COPY, with virtually no signs of wear. PRESENTATION COPY FROM WALT WHITMAN TO A NEIGHBOR BOY, LEONARD HORNER, in the hand of the recipient (though as an older man), as follows: "Presented to Leonard Horner by Walt Whitman- (in Person) Jan - 1885-- (to be given to his Mother),î written in wavering hand on the front free fly. As well, there is are signature initials on the upper right of the same page, "PEH," more than likely the party to which Horner later presented the book. Regarding this superb Presentation, Ted Genoways, Whitman scholar, makes these following fascinating observations: ìThe name ìWm. Leonard Hornerî (apparently in his own hand) appears in one of Whitmanís notebooks… Read More

FLAUBERT, Gustave (1821-1880)
Autograph letter signed "Gve Flaubert" to Paul Meurice
[Paris, late April 1857], 1 page in-8 on double folio, laid paper, black ink.
Usual fold marks
Important letter from Flaubert which accompanied Madame Bovary, dedicated to Victor Hugo
"A novel which I'm asking you to send to Mr Hugo"


"Monsieur, Quoique je n'aie pas l'honneur de vous connaitre personnellement je prends la liberté de vous remettre l'exemplaire d'un roman [Madame Bovary] que je vous prie de faire parvenir à Mr Hugo. Soyez assez bon, aussi, pour en accepter un autre ci-joint et daignez agréer l'hommage de toute ma considération. Gve Flaubert"


In this letter, Flaubert asks Paul Meurice to send Victor Hugo – then on exile on Guernesey island – an example of his masterpiece Madame Bovary, the only luxury print, following the publication at Michel Lévy.
The complicity between Meurice and Hugo was deep. In 1848, Hugo made him the editor-in-chief of the newspaper L'Événement, which he had just… Read More

The Nonesuch Press London, 1937-8. 8vo. 25 volumes, set, including the plate and Nonesuch Dickensiana. #237 of 877 sets. Publisher's vari-coloured buckram. Black leather title labels. Edges untrimmed. Top edges gilt. Engraved title vignettes and plates. Illustrated throughout, mostly from the original plates or blocks which were then dispersed with the sets. This set includes the original steel-engraved plate of "Nicholas attracted by the mention of his Sister's name in the Coffee-room" by H. K. Browne ('Phiz') from Nicholas Nickleby, housed in a boxed volume together with a print and a typed letter of authenticity from the publisher, signed by Arthur Waugh the Deputy Chairman of Chapman & Hall. Just a little fading to the spines of some volumes. The original postal box for the Nonesuch Dickensiana has several splits and the book is lightly foxed to the edges and endpapers. Contents clean, fresh and with no ownership marks. A fine set. A bright, handsome set of the finest library edition of Charles… Read More

Published by T. Egerton, London; 1817. Third Edition. 2 vols bound as 1. 12mo. Condition: Very Good. Provenance: From the library of David Gilson and Chris Viveash, renowned Jane Austen bibliographers and scholars.2 volumes bound as 1 in contemporary brown cloth binding, appearing to be a remainder binding, of which only 2 are know (Gilson p.42). Title in gilt to the spine. There is some rubbing and soiling to the binding and the spine has been re-backed with the original spine relaid, with a little loss of the original spine at the foot. Inside, there is some spotting, and old water staining to the lower margins throughout, although the pages are in remarkably clean condition for a book of this age. The endpapers are somewhat soiled, with a few discreet and sympathetic repairs. The modern bookplate of Chris Viveash is affixed to the front pastedown, with a pencil annotation just above. Viveash has also added a purchase note in pencil to the rear pastedown. Jane Austen is perhaps the most famous… Read More

London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. Third Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket, As Issued. pp: [viii][1]2-166 [2]. THE THIRD EDITION bound in deep red full calf, ruled in gilt, raised bands to spine with two title pieces, one in blue and one in green, both with gilt lettering. All edge gilt with top edge rough cut, and other edges trimmed. Both paste downs are trimmed with half-inch decorative calf and remainder and end paper are in decorative red paper. The original covers are bound in at the end of the text. The book is held in a brown cloth covered clam shell case with a title piece laid down. A nearly flawless copy. When the novella was published it struck a chord with Victorian readers. Some old Christmas traditions were being revived and new ones (the Christmas tee and Christmas cards) were being introduced. Dickens completed the book in six weeks. And it was released on 17 December, 1943. It was a great success and went into multiple printings with a few months. By May, 1844… Read More

London: Chapman & Hall, 1859. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket, As Issued. pp: [vii] viii-x [1]2-254. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Bound in full red calf with gilt trim, raised bands trimmed in gilt, title stamped in gilt. All edges trimmed in gilt. Held in matching red slipcase. The love theme triangle in the novel was likely inspired by a similar situation in 'The Frozen Deep', a play in which Dickens acted. Frontispiece and fourteen plates. Page 213 mis numbered as '113'. Gimbel A143. The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly installments in Dickens' new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. From April 1859 to November 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers.The first weekly installment of A Tale of Two Cities ran in the first issue of All the Year Round on 30 April 1859. The last ran thirty weeks later, on 26 November. This was the last of Dickens' novels to be illustrated by Browne.

First Edition in English of this masterful and complex novel, considered by many to be Dostoevsky's finest. While the English publisher Henry Vizetelly brought out many major Dostoevsky works in the 1880s, inexplicably The Brothers Karamazov and The Possessed were not among them; these last two first appeared in English translation by Constance Garnett in 1912 and 1913 respectively. This copy is in extraordinary condition; with the exception of some minor dust soiling on the top page edges, this copy is in truly fine condition, unread, no ownership markings, cloth unfaded, gilt bright and shining as the day it was published.

London: Macmillan & Co., 1876. First Edition, First Issue, with "Baker" not "Butcher" at p. 83. Marvelouly bound by Kelliegram (stamp-signed on rear turn-ins) in hunter green crushed morocco featuring The Baker at ship's railing in the center of the front cover, with gilt floral decorations at corners of covers, spine, and turn-ins, red silk end papers, ribbon marker, all edges gilt. Bound with the original First Edition cloth covers and spine at rear. Fine in all regards in a gorgeous and whimsical Kelliegram Fine binding. . First Edition. Crushed Morocco. Fine/No Jacket, As Issued. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.