The Collection Part I
Tess of the D’urbervilles
Tess of the D’urbervilles
$70.00
by Thomas Hardy
A little stunner of a book. Bound in what appears to be tanned-colored calfskin, with some extraordinary decoration on the front cover and spine, a combination of gold tooling, embossing, and contrasting dye work using Celtic motifs. Because the book was originally serialized, and Hardy’s original work challenged popular morality at the time, it was published in several revised editions. This is a copy of the “Wessex Edition,” released in 1912, which was Hardy’s final say on the matter, and includes prefaces Hardy wrote to the first and three later editions, including the 1912 one. Top edges are gilt. There is some water staining on the side edges, but none of it goes through to the interior. Overall, the pages are quite clean and bright, though a couple of pages have small marks in the margins that do not interfere with the text. The bottom corners are bumped. The top edge of the spine is slightly chipped and there is a quarter-inch closed tear along the top hinge of the front cover; this does not continue inside, where the hinges are intact. 8v, 516 pages. The book includes a map of Hardy’s Wessex at the end.
Published in 1930 by MacMillan and Co., Limited, London
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Seller Inventory #: 0000224
A little stunner of a book. Bound in what appears to be tanned-colored calfskin, with some extraordinary decoration on the front cover and spine, a combination of gold tooling, embossing, and contrasting dye work using Celtic motifs. Because the book was originally serialized, and Hardy’s original work challenged popular morality at the time, it was published in several revised editions. This is a copy of the “Wessex Edition,” released in 1912, which was Hardy’s final say on the matter, and includes prefaces Hardy wrote to the first and three later editions, including the 1912 one. Top edges are gilt. There is some water staining on the side edges, but none of it goes through to the interior. Overall, the pages are quite clean and bright, though a couple of pages have small marks in the margins that do not interfere with the text. The bottom corners are bumped. The top edge of the spine is slightly chipped and there is a quarter-inch closed tear along the top hinge of the front cover; this does not continue inside, where the hinges are intact. 8v, 516 pages. The book includes a map of Hardy’s Wessex at the end.
Published in 1930 by MacMillan and Co., Limited, London
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Seller Inventory #: 0000224