PETER SCHLEMIHL

Adelbert von Chamisso ( January 1781 – 21 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist. In the summer of the eventful year, 1813, he wrote the prose narrative Peter Schlemihl, the man who sold his shadow. This, the most famous of all his works, has been translated into most European languages.

This offering of Peter Schlemihl is from the German translation of Lamotte Fouque. London: G. and W. B. Whittaker, 1824.12mo, pp. [i-ix] x-xii [1] 2-165 [166: blank] [167-168: ads], eight inserted plates with illustrations by George Cruikshank, full brown morocco with gilt titling and gilt initial W.H.H. (William Henry Huntington) on front cover and S.P.A.(Samuel Putnam Avery) on the back cover. a.e.g. Beautiful gold engraved doublures on green Morocco on both covers with rectos of marbled paper. Encased in a double slipcase, internally in sheepskin lined smooth brown calf and externally in brown morocco with gilt titling and initials (W.H.H.) on spine. The book is absolutely mint. The slipcase with extensive wear on the spine and edges.

First edition in English, third state. This state is dated 1824 and the publisher's address has no hyphen. Cruikshank's name is misspelled "Cruickshank" and page [ix], lines 4-5 has misspelling "aukwardness" for "awkwardness," both present in all three states, but corrected for the second edition published later in 1824.

The unique features associated with this offering of Peter Schlemihl are:
• Tipped in is a long letter (4pp on both sides of 2 leaves) from Huntington to Avery
discussing some art works of Greuze (Jean-Baptistery Greuze)
• a short handwritten note of Sept. 15, '73 from George Cruikshank to Samuel Avery advising him when to expect the delivery of some etchings.
• Penciled on the free endpaper is the following inscription "Dear Mr. Avery, Yrs (as spelled) truly, W.H.H., Paris 28, Nov. 1818".
• A laid in bookplate of Samuel Avery showing a dealer presenting a painting to two patrons in his "Fine Art Room, 88 Fifth Avenue – Near the Fourteenth Street --- New York". On the display table cloth is printed "Designed & Etched by George Cruikshank, age 81, Sept. 27, 1878".
• A second laid in bookplate of Samuel Avery is printed "far more seemly were it for thee to have thy Study full of Bookes then thy purses full of money", Lilly, then an ornament, and then "C.W. Sherborn Seat London 1893."
• An extract from a letter written by W. H. Huntinghton regarding Benjamin Franklin & Francis Bacon portraits painted in Limoge enamel by F. de Courcy, of Paris, 1884.
• Tipped in portrait of George Cruikshank from a photograph by Messrs. Edwards & Bult of London.

Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué (German) (12 February 1777 – 23 January 1843) was a German writer of the Romantic style.

Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) was an American connoisseur and dealer in art. Commissioner for the American art department of the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. A founder and trustee of the metropolitan Museum of Art. Founder of the Avery Architectural Library of Columbia University in memory of his son. In 1912 Avery Hall, in memory of father and son, was erected on the Columbia campus. Its first floor houses the Avery Library, rated the richest collection in the country of works on architecture and the allied arts. Donor of 17,775 etchings and lithographs to the New York Public Library.

William Henry Huntington (1820-1865) was an American journalist, born in Norwich, Conn. He bequeathed his collection of medals, bronzes, porcelains, miniatures, engravings and prints relating to Washington, Lafayette and Franklin to the Metropolitan Museum, New York.