and What People Thought of Him. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1894. 2 pp undated ads. Original red cloth decorated in black and gilt. First Edition of the author's first novel, based on his own abortive efforts to enter politics in his hometown of Brooklyn.~The semi-realistic PETER STIRLING is... More
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893. Original terra-cotta cloth decorated in red and black. First Edition of Frederic's novel sited during the American Civil War. "Copperhead" was the reproachful term for Northerners who sympathized with Southern whites -- mostly Democrats in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio who were opposed to the... More
[a handsome copy] A Novel. In Three Volumes. London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1890. Original patterned paper-covered boards with brown cloth spines. First Edition, which consisted of 1,000 copies (of which, according to the publisher, only 492 were sold -- but that may have been Bentley's ruse to avoid paying... More
A Novel. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1895. 8 pp undated ads. Original green cloth decorated in red and gilt. First American Edition, issued as a volume in Appleton's "Town & Country Library." Since this series was intended for family fireside reading, and since Appleton advertised that all such... More
[one of only 500 copies] In Three Volumes. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1888. 2 pp Vol III undated ads. Original terra-cotta cloth. First Edition, which consisted of only 500 copies published on 15 November 1888. Although A LIFE'S MORNING was Gissing's sixth novel published, it was his fourth written... More
London, Paris & Melbourne: Cassell and Company, 1895. 4 pp ads dated March 1896. Original mustard yellow cloth decorated in red. First Edition of this novella, being a volume in "Cassell's Pocket Library," which was edited by Max Pemberton. With the 1894 demise of the three-decker format and the lengthy... More
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, (1898). Original olive green cloth pictorially decorated in light green, black and red. First American Edition, first state, issued in late September 1898 -- about a month after Methuen's London edition. Quite different from his earlier grim novels of social realism, this has been... More
With 20 Illustrations by F. S. Wilson. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1895. 24 pp ads dated Aug 1895. Original dark blue-green cloth, beveled. First Edition of this novel about a "shopgirl with a past." It was serialized as THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR, but its title was changed when... More
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1865. Original pinkish-brown wrappers. First Edition of this wartime story that had first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1863, and would later be collected in Hale's book IF, YES, AND PERHAPS (1868). "Written to inspire patriotism during the Civil War, it was suggested by the... More
A Novel. With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. (London and New York: Harper & Brothers, 1898.) Original dark green cloth with monogram device in gilt. "Wessex Novels" edition, American issue. DESPERATE REMEDIES was Hardy's first novel, first published in 1871 in three volumes; here it... More
(London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine, and Co., 1891.) Original light brown cloth decorated in gilt. First Edition of this loosely-connected collection of ten stories of "dames," published just before TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES. One of them, "Barbara of the House of Grebe," is considered to represent Hardy at his most... More
A Comedy in Chapters. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1876. Endpaper ads dated May 9, 1876. Original cream cloth decorated in black. First American Edition, issued as a volume in Henry Holt's "Leisure Hour Series." This was Hardy's fifth novel -- following FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD and preceding... More
With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. (London:) James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., (1896). Original dark blue-green cloth with monogram device in gilt. First Edition of Hardy's last great novel, issued as Vol. VIII of "The Wessex Novels." Titled HEARTS INSURGENT at the time of... More
With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. (London:) James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., (1896). Original dark blue-green cloth with front cover monogram device in gilt. First Edition of Hardy's last great novel, issued as Vol. VIII of "The Wessex Novels." Titled HEARTS INSURGENT at the... More
A Set of Tales. With Some Colloquial Sketches entitled A Few Crusted Characters. (London: Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1894.) Original olive green cloth decorated in brown. First Edition. This collection (eight tales plus nine "crusted characters," most of which were written in 1890-1891) was published a few years after TESS... More
A Set of Tales. With Some Colloquial Sketches entitled A Few Crusted Characters. (London: Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1894.) Original olive green cloth decorated in brown. First Edition. This collection (eight tales plus nine "crusted characters," most of which were written in 1890-1891) was published a few years after TESS... More
New York: Norman L. Munro, n.d. [July 16, 1883]. Original printed terra-cotta wrappers. A very early, but not quite first, edition of this "short hastily written novel" [Hardy himself]. It constituted his first contribution to the Graphic in England -- as the Summer Number for 1883; it was also arranged... More
New York: John W. Lovell Company, n.d. [1882]. Original brown cloth decorated in black. Early (first?) American edition. This Hardy novel first appeared serially in Atlantic Monthly, where it ran from May through December 1882, paving the way for it to be pirated once complete. The three-volume English edition came... More
A Novel. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1882. Undated endpaper ads. Original mustard yellow cloth decorated in black. First American Edition, issued as No. 142 in Holt's "Leisure Hour Series." This is Hardy's tale about a young astronomer and an older woman of superior wealth and rank, brought together... More
A Sketch of a Temperament. With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. (London:) James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., (1897). Original dark blue-green cloth with monogram in gilt. First Edition, issued as Vol XVII in Hardy's "The Wessex Novels." Although this was Hardy's last novel to... More
London: (first 17 volumes) Osgood, McIlvaine & Co.; (18th volume) Macmillan and Co., 1895-1913. Plus: WESSEX POEMS and Other Verses. With Thirty Illustrations by the Author. London: Harper & Brothers, 1898. [Together, 19 volumes.] Original dark blue-green cloth with front cover monogram device in gilt. First Uniform and Complete Edition... More
[in the FIRST binding state] In Three Volumes. London: Macmillan and Co., 1887. 1 page Vol I ads. Original dark green cloth. First Edition of this novel involving a faithful suitor, a flashy rival, and a heroine who makes a fatal choice -- reminiscent of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD... More
In Three Volumes. London: Macmillan and Co., 1887. Original dark green cloth. First Edition of this novel involving a faithful suitor, a flashy rival, and a heroine who makes a fatal choice -- reminiscent of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD a decade earlier, which in fact was when Hardy first... More
In Three Volumes. London: Macmillan and Co., 1887. 2 pp undated Vol I ads. Original dark green cloth. First Edition, first binding state, of this novel involving a faithful suitor, a flashy rival, and a heroine who makes a fatal choice -- reminiscent of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD a.... More
of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. Fourth Series | No. 64. [London & Edinburgh:] William and Robert Chambers, March 18, 1865. Original self-wrappers, lightly bound into a later medium-brown printed folder. First Appearance of Thomas Hardy's first published piece of work, appearing anonymously. The three-page sketch is a rather amusing... More
