Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - 1856

UK: Thomas Hodgson, 1856. 6th Edition 1856. Hardcover. Cloth-bound. Sixth Edition. [The Parlour Library CXLIV]. 12mo (175 x 110 mm), pp. [xii], 202. Contemporary green cloth decorated in gilt on spine and in blind on front and rear cover. Parlour Library series and half-title pages present. Coated pastedowns and endpapers. Framed title-page. Two pages of adverts at front and rear. Condition: VERY GOOD. Collated complete. Binding secure with slight lean. Covers very clean. Tail of spine slightly scuffed. Contents clean. A central gathering slightly protruding. Small neatly inked ownership inscription on front free endpaper. Scarce thus. Note: The Parlour Library was the first successful series of fiction reprints originally bound in paper boards, the forerunners of the modern paperback. Founded in 1847 by the Belfast firm of Simms and McIntyre, the series was continued by Thomas Hodgson and a succession of London publishers into the 1860s. Advertised as books 'for all', these shilling volumes, stimulated an unprecedented demand for cheap, attractively packaged new and popular novels. The few copies listed in COPAC and WorldCat have date ranges from 1846-1856, some of which wrongly antedate the foundation of the Parlour Library. Sadleir's date of 1856 is regarded as correct for this edition. Many of the recorded copies are lacking the half-title and, or, adds. [Sadleir 3755a; Lyles B9a]. More images can be taken upon request. ref 14765. Sixth Edition. Decorative Cloth. Very Good+. 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall.