UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE. A Rural Painting of the Dutch School. By the Author of 'Desperate Remedies'

London: Tinsley Brothers, 1872. 2 volumes. Rare First edition. A Copy with Interesting Provenance in the circles of American commerce and finance. 8vo, handsomely bound in antique full maroon morocco for Sawyer of Grafton Street, London, the boards with a triple gilt ruled frame, the spines with gilt stippled raised bands and gilt framed compartments, two of which are lettered in gilt, additional gilt lettering at the foot of the spine panels, gilt ruled board edges, gilt tooled turn-ins, marbled endpapers and t.e.g. 215; 216 pp. A very handsome set, the bindings with only a little light aging, all very solid and firm and very attractive, the text also fine with just a hint of age mellowing. THE FIRST OF THE GREAT SERIES OF WESSEX NOVELS, THE AUTHOR'S SECOND PUBLISHED NOVEL, AND THE LAST TO BE PUBLISHED WITHOUT HIS NAME. QUITE RARE, Purdy presumed the print run to be only about 500 copies. It is an important precursor to Hardy's major works. The Wessex rustics who play critical roles in Hardy's later novels, such as The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge, claim the centre stage as they debut here.
This copy with the bookplates of noted book collector and "the most colorful and attractive figure in the commercial banking world", Albert Henry Wiggin of Greenwich, who in 1941 donated several thousand pieces of his collection to the Boston Public Library. Also with the bookplates of Connecticut banker Lynde Selden, vice-chairman of the board of American Express from 1941 to 1956.