"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray - 1900

Paris: Charpentier, 1874. Hardcover. Very Good +. viii, [2], 456 p.; 19 cm. Contemporary calf with six spine compartments between raised bands. Black leather labels in second and third compartments with gilt-tooled title, author, and translator. Gilt-ruled border on each board. All page edges marbled; matching marbled endpapers. Blind-rolled decoration on board edges and turn-ins. "Nouvelle Édition augmentée d'une Étude sur les Contes Fantastiques d'Hoffmann par Théophile Gautier." Former owner's inscription on front free endpaper verso: "T.B. Clarke-Thornhill, Tokyo. Feb. 1888." Thomas Bryan Clarke-Thornhill (1857-1934) served as Second Secretary in the British legation in Tokyo from 1887 to 1891. Over the years he gave over 70 East Asian textiles and other items to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Contents: Le Violon de Crémone -- Les Maitres Chanteurs -- Mademoiselle de Scudéri -- Le Majorat -- Maitre Martin et… Read More

Paris: Michel Lévy Frères, 1867. Paperback. Good +. Nouvelle Édition. [4], 356 p.; 19 cm. Light green wrapper. At head of title page and on front wrapper: Drames de l'Amérique du Nord. Publisher's catalog on back wrapper. Part of the publisher's series Collection Michel Lévy. Advertisement for Marie de Granfort by Chevalier on page facing title page. Faint armorial stamp on front wrapper. Stamp on title page with a crown above "Egeskov Bibliothek." The author, Henri Emile Chevalier (1828-1879), came to North America following the 1851 coup d'état in his native France. Although he returned to France following the 1860 amnesty, he published quite a few novels featuring Native Americans, including La Huronne, first published in Paris in 1861. Very scarce. In Good+ Condition: lacking some paper over spine; minor loss at two corners of front wrapper, which is creased; text block is separated between p. 96 and p. 97; small… Read More

Boston: Munroe and Francis. Good with no dust jacket; Two 1861 gift inscriptions written in elegant . hand on two blank flyleaves, and another 19th century gift inscription on . rear flyleaf. Musty, boards worn, several soiled pages, waterstain at heel . and lower gutter of rear 20 pages.. 1827. Later Printing. Hardcover. Green printed paper-covered boards with burgundy leather spine with titles and fleuron stamped in gilt. [x], 180 pp., including three pages of publisher's ads. Frontispiece engraving after H. Courbould of kneeling woman providing her "solemn afseveration that she was innocent" to"her Ladyship". Front flyleaf engraved page with two vignettes of flying doves and Cupid with dog and dove noting that this book was originally presented as a "tribute of regard, presented by Your Affectionate Friend, A. M. Wells, Feb 22, 1830. Front board printed with engraving of Boston State House. Measures 15 x 9 cm. According to the Dictionary of National Biography,… Read More

Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend complete in four volumes. Part of Hurd & Houghton's "Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition." One B&W illustration in each volume with tipped-in protective tissue. Black cloth (faded) with gilt lettering and publisher medallion on spine; gilt medallion on front.FON on FFEP of each volume.Covers are faded, stained, and bumped, with wear on corners and the tops & heels of spines. Volume 4 has a tear up the spine hinge and across the spine. Endpapers are discolored. Pages are age tanned and foxed. Volume 1 & 2 are cracked at half-title page.

Very rare copy. Warne's Star Series. First edition, first printing. No DJ issued. Blue cloth boards, ornately stamped with black and gilt design to front board and spine. List of Warne's books on front and back pastedowns. 345pp. Small 8vo. CONDITION: poor. boards worn; spine faded and worn at extremities; edges dusted; boards and spine attached to each other but completely detached from the rest of the book (which is still bound together). One inch open chip to ffep (but missing piece is included, in case of repair job in the future. Front pastedown and ffep very darkened; mark where something was previously stuck, on front pastedown. Back pastedown and bfep, similar condition as front. Gift inscription on page opposite title page (dated 1889). Title page has light foxing. Internally - occasional smudges but bright and readable. This pleasing little book deserves some repair and re-binding. The story begins in the height of a cholera epidemic, in London, in 1849.

Paris: Michel Lévy Frères, 1867. Paperback. Good +. Nouvelle Édition. [4], 356 p.; 19 cm. Light green wrapper. At head of title page and on front wrapper: Drames de l'Amérique du Nord. Publisher's catalog on back wrapper. Part of the publisher's series Collection Michel Lévy. Advertisement for Marie de Granfort by Chevalier on page facing title page. Faint armorial stamp on front wrapper. Stamp on title page with a crown above "Egeskov Bibliothek." The author, Henri Emile Chevalier (1828-1879), came to North America following the 1851 coup d'état in his native France. Although he returned to France following the 1860 amnesty, he published quite a few novels featuring Native Americans, including La Huronne, first published in Paris in 1861. Very scarce. In Good+ Condition: lacking some paper over spine; minor loss at two corners of front wrapper, which is creased; text block is separated between p. 96 and p. 97; small… Read More

Boston: Munroe and Francis. Good with no dust jacket; Two 1861 gift inscriptions written in elegant . hand on two blank flyleaves, and another 19th century gift inscription on . rear flyleaf. Musty, boards worn, several soiled pages, waterstain at heel . and lower gutter of rear 20 pages.. 1827. Later Printing. Hardcover. Green printed paper-covered boards with burgundy leather spine with titles and fleuron stamped in gilt. [x], 180 pp., including three pages of publisher's ads. Frontispiece engraving after H. Courbould of kneeling woman providing her "solemn afseveration that she was innocent" to"her Ladyship". Front flyleaf engraved page with two vignettes of flying doves and Cupid with dog and dove noting that this book was originally presented as a "tribute of regard, presented by Your Affectionate Friend, A. M. Wells, Feb 22, 1830. Front board printed with engraving of Boston State House. Measures 15 x 9 cm. According to the Dictionary of National Biography,… Read More

Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend complete in four volumes. Part of Hurd & Houghton's "Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition." One B&W illustration in each volume with tipped-in protective tissue. Black cloth (faded) with gilt lettering and publisher medallion on spine; gilt medallion on front.FON on FFEP of each volume.Covers are faded, stained, and bumped, with wear on corners and the tops & heels of spines. Volume 4 has a tear up the spine hinge and across the spine. Endpapers are discolored. Pages are age tanned and foxed. Volume 1 & 2 are cracked at half-title page.

London:: Smith, Elder and Co.,. Hardback. Full tree calf binding with raised bands to spine, gilt titles to spine and gilt decorated compartments. Decorative gilt twisted border to both boards. Gilt dentelles. Marbled endpapers and marbled to all page edges. Illustrated by Richard Doyle. The narrator is Arthur Pendennis, the protagonist of Pendennis. Leather to spine is very slightly faded and there is a hint of rubbing to spine hinges which remain strong. Text is particularly clean and crisp. Very good copy . Hardback. 1903.

First edition hardcover. 1866, New York. Condition is Very Good: Library sticker on spine, pencil note on copyright page, no other library markings. Some pencil notes on front blank, none elsewhere. Occasional foxing in text. Binding is sound. Light general wear to boards. A nice copy of an uncommon book. Author aims to offend as many people as possible and succeeds. Paginates: blanks, frontis, 312, [2], blanks, plus 11 unpaginated plates. Extremely obscure item. Please see images of the book you will receive. Notes: Author is brother of Samuel Comstock - infamous mutineer of the whaleship Globe. Such a lovely family. More notes: Satire aimed at (?) Charles Farrar Browne who was a humorist working under the name Artemus Ward. Browne (Ward) was reportedly a favorite of Abraham Lincoln. More notes: Most, but not all, first editions of this time period have the date on the title page and this copy does not. I have looked at WorldCat, online libraries and sale copies; I cannot locate any copy with a date… Read More