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Period: Late 19th Century
McClellan s Own Story by George B. McClellan, First Edition, in Original Boards
By George B. McClellan 1
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
McClellan, George B. McClellan’s Own Story: The war for the Union, the soldiers who fought it, the civilians who directed it, and his relations to it and them. New York: Charles Webs...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Fabric, Paper

36 Hand Colored and Gilded Plates, 1891-Folio Sevres Porcelaine Vases
Located in San Francisco, CA
A Folio of Maison Quantin, Paris, 1891 first edition text and plates. Chromomo- lithographed plates by Gillot, colored and decorated in raised gold by hand. The sevres porcelain fa...
Category

French Late Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

2 Volumes, Thomas Archer, Pictures and Royal Portraits
Located in New York, NY
2 Volumes, Thomas Archer, Pictures and Royal Portraits Illustrative of English and Scottish History. Bound in the publisher's pezux binding in full red morocco with the covers displa...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

Jess by H. Rider HAGGARD in a Handsome binding
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1887. First Edition. 8vo. 7 1/4 x 4 3/4 (184 x 120 mm); viii, 336. Handsomely bound in polished red calf by Bayntun (stamp on first endpaper), gilt fill...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

Beacon Lights of History by John Lord in 5 volumes
Located in San Francisco, CA
A five volume leather bound set titled "Beacon Lights of History" by John Lord published in New York in 1884 by Fords, Howard and Hulbert profiling various historical luminaries from...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

Set of Old Bound Books Dating from the 19th Century France
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Set of old religious books dating from the 19th century. From an old protestant library near Le Havre in France. These books are called " Sermons ". These beautiful books are perfect...
Category

French Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Heroes of the Plains by J. W. Buel, Illustrated, circa 1880s
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Buel, James W. Heroes of the Plains, or Lives and Wonderful Adventures of Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson, Capt. Payne, “White Beaver,” Capt. Jack, Texas Jack, California Joe, an...
Category

American Late Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Fabric, Paper

The Overland Guide From the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, Revised, 1883
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Gleed, Charles S, ed. Rand, McNally & Co.'s Overland Guide From the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean Via Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1883. Revised Edition. Rebound in ¼ red leather and cloth boards, with original cloth gilt-stamped pictorial front board saved, new marbled endpapers, and a custom archival slipcase to match. Illustrated throughout with engravings. This is a “Revised Edition” of the Rand, McNally & Co.'s Overland Guide From the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, via Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The book was edited by Charles S. Gleed and published by Rand, McNally & Co., in Chicago in 1883. It has been artfully rebound in ¼ red leather and cloth boards, with the original gilt-stamped pictorial front cloth board saved, new marbled endpapers, and a matching archival cloth slipcase. As explained in the beginning of the guidebook, the purpose of the book is “to give the reader a satisfactory general idea of the States and Territories of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, through which the traveler passes in going from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, or vice versa, entering or leaving California at its southern extremity.” Following the southern route of railways, editor Charles Gleed lays out in extensive detail information on each state, including population numbers, key industries, important towns and railway stations, farming and agriculture, mining opportunities, and weather patterns. Throughout the guidebook are countless engravings, both full page and in-text, from well known engravers of the time. Meant to further entice readers to take this overland journey, the illustrations offer views of key tourist spots, townviews, and scenic destinations, throughout the featured states of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The guidebook is also supplemented by pages of printed advertisements in the beginning of the book, showcasing local businesses, services, and wares. Charles Sumner...
Category

American Late Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

[1896] The Complete Works of William Hickling Prescott
Located in Bath, GB
A beautiful and exceptionally bright leather set of these collected major works of William Hickling Prescott. Complete in twelve volumes. A set of the major works of William H. Pr...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

New Shipment Of Assorted Leather Bound Books, Priced Per Book. English
Located in Buchanan, MI
Collection of assorted leather bound books. Please note these are priced per book and we have a very large inventory of leather bound books, mostly decorative and in other languages....
Category

North American Georgian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

Works of Shakespere Imperial Edition by Charles Knight Vol i with Golden Edges
Located in Doha, QA
This unique book is very rare and terrific edition which goes back to late 19th century, approximately 1870-1875. This is one of two volumes of Complete Works of W. Shakespeare. This...
Category

English High Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold

Volume VI Standard Natural History 1885
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Fascinating Antique Volume, "Natural History of Man" edited by John Sterling Kingsley and featuring 275 Woodcuts and 53 full page illustrations. Published by S.E. Cassino and Company...
Category

Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Julia PARDOE. The Court And Reign Of Francis - 3 vols - 1887 - IN A FINE BINDING
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: PARDOE, Julia. TITLE: The Court And Reign Of Francis The First King Of France. PUBLISHER: London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1887 DESCRIPTION: 3 vols., 8-3/4" x 5-7/8", num...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

1882 The Works of Henry Fielding, Esq.
Located in Bath, GB
A limited edition ten-volume set of the works of Henry Fielding, edited with a biography by Leslie Stephen. A ten-volume set in half morocco bindings. All edges gilt. No. 92 of a t...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

John Addington Symonds, the Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi, 1890, Leather Bound
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: SYMONDS, John Addington. TITLE: The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi. PUBLISHER: London: John C. Nimmo, 1890. DESCRIPTION: LIMITED EDITION. 2 vols., 9-1/4" x 7", limite...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

1872 Chambers s Miscellany of Instructive and Entertaining Tracts - 8 Volumes
By William Chambers 1
Located in Morristown, NJ
8 of 10 volumes (2-7 and 9-10) Chambers's Miscellany of Instructive & Entertaining Tracts New and Revised Edition, printed 1872 by W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh. Uniformly bound in hal...
Category

Scottish Edwardian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

William BLAKE : The Book of Thel. Songs of Innocence. And Songs of Experience
Located in Middletown, NY
London: Vale Press, 1897. Charles Ricketts, illustrations. LIMITED EDITION Crown 8vo, 8 x 5 inches (197 x 130 mm), lxxxi pp., printed in Vale type on thick hand-made paper with yapp...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

1876 The Hunting of the Snark; Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice"
Located in Bath, GB
The first edition of beloved children's author Lewis Carroll's delightful nonsense poem, with the first issue of his 'An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice"' tipped in. ...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Antique Handmade Qajar Persian Lacquer Photo Album Silver on Leather
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Late 19th century Middle Eastern photo album book, Qajar period, hand painted lacquer enamel with silver on leather large photo album. Painted enamel central plaque depicting a Mosqu...
Category

Persian Islamic Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Silver, Enamel

Vintage "Old Boston Theatre" Blue Transferware Plate, 1899
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Presented is a blue-glazed transferware Wedgwood plate, dating to 1898. Made in England, this specific pattern celebrates the Old Boston Theater, at the corner of Federal and Frankli...
Category

English Late Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery

1891-1896 The Novels of George Eliot
Located in Bath, GB
A handsomely bound set of the novels of George Eliot, as well as a short story collection, with many illustrations. A seven-volume set, one containing two volumes bound in one, in h...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

The Boys of 76 by Charles Carleton Coffin, 1876
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Coffin, Charles Carleton. The Boys of ‘76. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1876. First Edition. Illustrated. Octavo. Rebound in ¼ burgundy leather and cloth boards with raised bands, gi...
Category

American American Colonial Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Fabric, Paper

10 Volumes. Lord Macaulay, Complete Works
Located in New York, NY
10 Volumes. Lord Macaulay, Complete Works. Knickerbocker Edition. Bound in 3/4 red calf with marbled boards. Covers and raised band spines are gilt-tooled. Top edges gilt. Marbled en...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

3 Volumes. G. Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World
Located in New York, NY
3 Volumes. George Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World. Second Edition. Bound in 3/4 brown morocco. The covers and raised band spines are gilt tooled. Al...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

The Complete Angler by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton, Edited by Harris Nicolas
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Walton, Izaak, with Charles Cotton. The Complete Angler or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation… Edited by Sir Harris Nicolas. London: Chatto and Windus, 1887. Fourth Nicolas Edition. Small 8vo. Presented in modern full brown Moroccan leather with raised bands, gilt titles, and tooling to the spine, stunning illustrated gilt title to the front. Top edge gilt. Illustrated throughout. Presented is a 1887 printing of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton’s famous treatise on fishing, The Complete Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Published by Chatto and Windus in London, this beautifully bound volume was the fourth edition to be edited by Sir Harris Nicolas. The book is presented in modern full brown Moroccan leather boards with gilt titles and illustrated throughout with wood engravings from 27 of the most prominent artists of the time. The Complete Angler was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot of St Dunstan-in-the-West out of London, UK. Izaak Walton continued to add to the original book for a quarter of a century. A significantly enlarged edition appeared in 1655, and the last edition supervised by Walton, published in 1676, included additional fly-fishing material written by his friend Charles Cotton. The 1676 edition has been among the most often reprinted books in English literature. The Compleat Angler...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

1898-1899 The Works of Henry Fielding
Located in Bath, GB
A beautifully bound, limited edition of this complete set of twelve collected works of Henry Fielding, with an introduction by Edmund Gosse. A Limited Edition set, one of only seven...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

1888-1891 The Bankside Shakespeare: The Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies
Located in Bath, GB
An attractive fifteen volumes of the limited edition Bankside Shakespeare, edited by Appleton Morgan, and uniformly bound in half calf. One of 500 limited edition copies of the Bank...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

1892-1901 The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson
Located in Bath, GB
An exceptionally beautiful thirty volume set of the works of Scottish novelist and writer Robert Louis Stevenson, in sumptuous half crushed morocco bindings. Very rare in an vibrant...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

c1880 Waverley Novels
Located in Bath, GB
A very smart complete twenty-five volume set of the Waverley Novels from Sir Walter Scott. Illustrated, Leather Binding, Original Binding, Publishers' Original Binding Complete in ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

1869-86 The Novels of William Makepeace Thackeray
By William Makepeace Thackeray
Located in Bath, GB
A nicely bound fully illustrated collection of the works of William Makepeace Thackeray. Complete in twenty-four volumes. Volume I, 'Vanity Fair Volume I', published in 1869. Illustrated by the author with a frontispiece, a vignette title page, and nineteen plates. Collated, complete. Volume II, 'Vanity Fair Volume II', published in 1869. Illustrated by the author with a frontispiece, and eighteen plates. Collated, complete. Volume III, 'The History of Pendennis Volume I', published in 1869. Illustrated by the author with a frontispiece, vignette title page, and twenty-two plates. Collated, complete. Volume IV, 'The History of Pendennis Volume II', published in 1869. Illustrated by the author with a frontispiece, a vignette title page, and twenty-two plates. Collated, complete. Volume V, 'The Newcomers Volume I', published in 1869. Illustrated by Richard Doyle...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

c1890 Works of George John Whyte-Melville
By George Whyte-Melville
Located in Bath, GB
A uniformly bound set of these delightful novels and poetry from George Whyte-Melville. A uniform set in signed half crushed morocco binding by Bayntun. Twenty-four volumes of nov...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

3 Volumes. Dr. Doran, F.S.A. Annals of The English Stage.
Located in New York, NY
3 Volumes. Dr. Doran, F.S.A. Annals of The English Stage. Bound in 3/4 green morocco. All edges gilt. Raised bands. Marbled endpapers. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe for Asprey. Spin...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

1877 Antiquities of the Orient Unveiled Leather Bound Book
Located in Stamford, CT
1877 Antiquities of the Orient Unveiled Leather Bound Book By REDDING, M. Wolcott Published by Masonic Publishing Union, 1877
Category

American Chinoiserie Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

3 Volumes. Richard Muther, The History of Modern Painting.
Located in New York, NY
3 Volumes. Richard Muther, The History of Modern Painting. Bound by Sotheran in 3/4 brown morocco and linen boards with the covers and raised ban spines gilt-tooled. Top edges gilt w...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

1896 The Principles of Light and Color
By Edwin D. Babbitt
Located in Bath, GB
A vibrantly illustrated, second edition of this exceptionally scarce work surrounding colour and the science of chromotherapy, written by American physician Edwin Babbitt. The secon...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

8 Volumes. Charles C.F. Greville, The Greville Memoirs.
Located in New York, NY
8 Volumes. Charles C.F. Greville, The Greville Memoirs. Bound by Bayntun in full navy morocco with the covers displaying gilt and open-tooling. The spines display raised bands, borde...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

Antique Rolland Books in French Language
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
nr. 9 books - owner Rolland - various titles and authors : Les maitres d'autrefois (Eugène Fromentin) - Petit Bob (GyP) - Voyage autour de mon jardin (Alphonse Karr) - Sans famille (...
Category

French Other Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

1887-98 Complete Peerage of Great Britain
By George Edward Cokayne
Located in Bath, GB
A beautifully bound first edition set of this important authorativie reference work on the peerage of Britain, by George Edward Cokayne. The first edition of this work. Complete in...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Atlas Manuel Book D Anatomie 27 Coloured Plaques Eduard Cuyer 1895s Victorian
Located in London, GB
An extremely rare find of the "Atlas Manuel D'Anatomie" by Eduard Cuyer first edition is an antique textbook published in the 1890s with 27 hand coloured plates. Overall very good ...
Category

Belgian Mid-Century Modern Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Eugène Mouton (mérinos) – History Of The Invalid At The Wooden Head
Located in Bilzen, BE
Eugène Mouton (Mérinos) – History of the Invalid with the Wooden Head. Illustrations by Georges Clairin. Paris, Ludovic Baschet, [circa 1887]. Large quarto (22.5 × 31.5 cm), half mor...
Category

French Napoleon III Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Cours de danse fin de siècle, Illustrated by Louis Legrand
Located in Middletown, NY
The illustrations show Can-Can dancers rehearsing classic high kick positions. Legrand, Louis, illustrations & Erastène Ramiro, text Paris: E. Dentu, 1892 Large 8vo; 11 1/8 x 7 7/8 ...
Category

French Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

Serrurier-Bovy: From Art Nouveau to Art Deco by Jacques-Gregoire Watelet (Book)
Located in North Yorkshire, GB
Serrurier-Bovy was a Belgium born Architect and Furniture designer who has been credited as being one of the founding fathers of the Art Nouveau style. This book is a photographic do...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Complete Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes. AUTOCRAT EDITION - 13 volumes
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: HOLMES, Oliver Wendell. TITLE: The Complete Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes. PUBLISHER: Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892. DESCRIPTION: THE AUTOCRAT EDITION. 13 vols.,...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

Set of Fourteen ‘The Magazine of Art’ Hardback Books
Located in Dublin 8, IE
Set of fourteen ‘The Magazine of Art’ hardback books dating from 1887 to 1901, published by Cassell and Company, Limited.
Category

European Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Louys, Pierre, Les Chansons De Bilitis, with 5 Original Watercolor Illustrations
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: LOUYS, Pierre. TITLE: Les Chansons de Bilitis. PUBLISHER: Paris: Librairie De L'art Independant, 1895. DESCRIPTION: WITH 5 ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATIONS. 1 vol., limited to 480 numbered copies on paper Velin this being copy #127, illustrated with 4 fine full page watercolor illustration and 1 half page (in text) by J. Robaglia, bound in full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled and paneled in gilt, covers with blind tooled Greek Key design, spine panels and covers inlaid with multicolor morocco onlays depicting tulips and flowers in an art Deco style, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut by Samblanx-Weckesser. CONDITION: Internally clean and bright, inner and outer hinges fine, head and foot of spine fine, overall VERY GOOD+. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This exact volume apparently last appeared at auction in 1919 as lot #207 Sotheby's Kensington "The Property of James Holmes...
Category

French Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

19th-Early 20th Century S.F Bay Area Leather Bound Business Journals
Located in San Francisco, CA
19th-early 20th century S.F Bay Area Leather Bound Business Journals One journal is mostly filled in. The other is mostly empty. The dates are circa 1880s-1910s An interesti...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Rudyard KIPLING. Plain Tales From The Hills. THIRD EDITION - PRESENTATION COPY !
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: KIPLING, Rudyard. TITLE: Plain Tales From The Hills. PUBLISHER: London: Macmillan & Co., 1890. DESCRIPTION: THIRD EDITION PRESENTATION COPY. 1 vol., inscribed on the titl...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Fabric

Late 19th Century Antique Japanese Textile Sample Book Shima Cho
Located in North Yorkshire, GB
This is a rare example of a "Shima-cho", which is a Japanese kimono textile fabric swatch book dating from the late 19th century. The book has fifte...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Textile

The King-Country; or, Explorations in New-Zealand by Kerry-Nicholls (1884)
Located in Langweer, NL
'The King-Country; or, Explorations in New-Zealand' by J.H. Kerry-Nicholls. Ibid., Sampson Low etc., 1884, XX,379,(1),36p., fold. col. lithogr. map, woodengr. plates, ills., modern c...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Antique Royal Book, Queen Victoria, History Reference, Hardcover, Jubilee, 1897
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique copy of Queen Victoria. Written by Richard Holmes, librarian to the Queen, and published in 1897, the year of Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. This richly illustrated h...
Category

British Late Victorian Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Twelve Prints of Aceh Atjeh Published by E.J. Brill, 1895
Located in Langweer, NL
Cardboard cover titled 'Platen behoorende bij De Atjèhers van Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje' including 12 plates of Aceh (or Atjeh, Indonesia) with a total of 27 images. The plates include...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Sophie Arnould d après sa correspondance... GONCOURT bros., deluxe, illustrated
Located in Middletown, NY
SIGNED, Second edition on LARGE PAPER One of the first personal biographies (biographies intimes) written by the Goncourt brothers and composed in 1857. This special edition with el...
Category

French Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

Voyages dans l Amérique du Sud by J. Crevaux 1883
Located in Langweer, NL
Voyages dans l'Amérique du Sud by J. Creavaux. Jules Crevaux was a French doctor, soldier, and explorer. He is known for his multiple explorations into the interior of French Guiana ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

A Holiday in Bed and Other Sketches – J. M. Barrie, creator of PETER PAN
Located in Middletown, NY
Philadelphia: New York Publishing Company, 1892. First Edition Small 8vo., 7 3/8 x 5 inches (188 x 127 mm), pp. 180, printed on heavy laid paper and illustrated with a frontispiece ...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

1 Volume. John Brown, The Self-Interpreting Holy Bible.
Located in New York, NY
1 Volume. John Brown, The Self-Interpreting Holy Bible. Bound in full black morocco with the covers and raised bands displaying gilt-tooled detailing. All edges gilt, gilt-tooled den...
Category

American Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather

La Mouche by Alfred de Musset – Illustrations by Adolphe Lalauze
Located in Middletown, NY
Paris: Librairie des Amateurs, 1892. Illustrations: Adolphe Lalauze (1838 – 1906) Preface: Philippe Gille Limited Edition 8vo, 9 1/8 x 6 inches (231 x 153 mm); xvi, 84, (3) pp.; pri...
Category

French Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Gold Leaf

1895 The Works of George Eliot
Located in Bath, GB
A finely bound set of the collected works of George Eliot, a wonderful presentation of her important novels. Complete in twenty-one volumes. The Standard Edition by William Blackwo...
Category

British Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Sixty Years A Queen The Story Of Her Majesty s Reign, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
Sixty Years A Queen: The Story Of Her Majesty's Reign by Sir Herbert Maxwell. Published in London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1897. 1st Ed hardcover, wit...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Leather, Paper

An Unsocial Socialist by George Bernard SHAW
Located in Middletown, NY
Rare first issue of the first edition for Bernard Shaw’s first published novel. Shaw, George Bernard. An Unsocial Socialist. London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowery & Co., 1887. First Edition, First Issue. Crown 8vo, 7 3/8 x 5 inches (188 x 126 mm); [4] 256 pp.; original red cloth, stamped in gilt on spine and covers, a little rubbed and soiled, spine slightly faded, hinges weak; dark brown endpapers; foxing on first 2 and last 2 sheets. First edition, first issue with "Author of The Confessions of Byron Cashel's Profession etc. etc." to title and no appendix. Ink inscription of Mrs Walter Crane on half title. [Broad, p. 87; Magill p. 965] This is Shaw's first published novel. It had been serialized in "To-Day, A Monthly Magazine of Scientific Socialism" between March and December of 1884. This printing was promptly canceled, and supposedly only samples for booksellers and travelers had been sent out with this title-page. Having attended a meeting by political economist Henry George in September 1882, Shaw became fascinated with Socialism, read Marx and became a member of the Fabian Society in September 1884, writing their first manifesto later that year. He believed in a more moderate, non-violent form of socialism and believed that socialist ideals could best be achieved by infiltration of people and ideas into existing political parties. In the early 1880s Shaw also began his literary career by writing music and art criticism and began writing novels, of which An Unsocial Socialist was the first published. But as his career as a playwright started taking off in the latter part of that decade, his political activities also decreased. Shaw later explained that he had intended An Unsocial Socialist as the first section of a monumental depiction of the downfall of capitalism. Gareth Griffith, in a study of Shaw's political thought, sees the novel as an interesting record of conditions, both in society at large and in the nascent socialist movement of the 1880s. [Griffith, Gareth. Socialism and Superior Brains: The Political Thought of George Bernard Shaw. London: Routledge, 1993]. The story centers on Sidney Trefusis, a millionaire socialist, who leaves his bride on their wedding day because he fears his passion for her will get in the way of his plans to overthrow the British government. Sidney vanished "underground"--Disguises himself as a common laborer called "Mengels"--and infiltrates Alton College, a girl's school where well-bred young women are "fitted and fatted to be put on the marriage market". His plan: take over the school and plant the seed of radical socialism into the fertile brains of the future consorts of cabinet ministers and kings. What he doesn't plan on is the presence of one Agatha Wylie, a sixth-form rabble-rouser, who falls hopelessly in love with both Sidney and his politics, and just happens to be his deserted wife's cousin. Love triangles, mistaken identities, Marx, Engels, pistols and the proletariat jostle for position. (via LibraryThing) An unusual ASSOCIATION COPY with ink inscription and address of "Mrs Walter Crane" [ie Mary Crane] on the half title. Walter Crane married Mary Andrews in 1871 and after a sojourn in Rome returned to London in 1873 living first in Wood End and then at Beaumont Lodge, Shepherd's Bush (the address she has written in this book). In 1914 Mary...
Category

English Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

Pflanzenbuch mit Farbigen Bildern by Dr. Max Dalitzsch, 1897
Located in Langweer, NL
'Pflanzenbuch mit farbigen bildern' by Dr. Max Dalitzsch. Original antique book with numerous illustrations of plants and flowers. Published 1897. Original binding. 250 p.
Category

Antique Late 19th Century Books

Materials

Paper

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