Vanity Fair.: A Novel Without a Hero.
by THACKERAY, William Makepeace
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Bradbury and Evans,, 1848. A sumptuously bound Victorian classic First edition in book form, elegantly bound. Later editions of "this classic novel almost invariably omit Thackeray's vignettes and often give only a selection from his etchings. The reader is deprived thereby not only of much amusement but also of important clues to the meaning of the story" (Ray, p. 75). The novel, first published in serial form from 1847 to 1848 and afterwards in book form, proved a popular success. The sheets were reprinted multiple times, with numerous textual variations between printings, and with the early parts already being reprinted in stereotype before serialization was complete, resulting in 210 variant readings by Shillingsburg's count. Variants both before and after stereotyping were not introduced in an orderly sequence, with the result that individual copies inevitably contain some corrected and some uncorrected sheets. This copy has the traditional points of first impression: first state title page, rustic type at head of page 1, and the Marquess of Steyne woodcut on page 336. The point often given, "Mr. Pitt" at 453.31, is not indicative, as that reading is common to the entire first edition; the change to "Sir Pitt" was not made until the second edition of 1853. Octavo (209 x 127 mm). Early 20th-century blue crushed morocco by Root, spine lettered in gilt, compartments richly floral-tooled in gilt with central red petal onlay, gilt French fillet on covers enclosing floral cornerpieces connected via beaded gilt rules, doublures decorated in similar fashion to covers, blue silk moiré endpapers, edges of contents and boards gilt, red silk bookmarker. Housed in a custom blue cloth slipcase. Etched frontispiece, vignette title page, and 38 plates, wood-engraved vignettes and initials in the text, all after Thackeray. Bound with front advert leaf. Occasional light foxing, still a fine copy. Gordon N. Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914, 122; Wolff 6699. David A. Randall, "Towards a Correct Collation of the First Edition of 'Vanity Fair'", The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, vol. 42, no. 2, 1948; Peter L. Shillingsburg, "The Printing, Proof-reading, and Publishing of Thackeray's Vanity Fair: The First Edition", Studies in Bibliography, vol. 34, 1981.
Synopsis
Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero is William Thackeray's celebrated satirical novel of 19th century British society. Vanity Fair follows the rags-to-riches tale of the captivating and ruthless Becky Sharpe as she navigates her way through London society with fearsome determination and ambition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 165223
- Title
- Vanity Fair.
- Author
- THACKERAY, William Makepeace
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- London: Bradbury and Evans,
- Date Published
- 1848
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Vignette
- A decorative design or illustration placed at the beginning or end of a ...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...