Light stain to fore-edge of engraved pages, minor foxing; minor rubbing to binding.
Engraved frontispiece and vignette title.
£195
or The Skimmer of the Seas
London, Richard Bentley, 1834.
First UK illustrated edition. 8vo. Contemporary half calf with marbled boards, spine with leather title label and decorations in gilt and blind.
A sea-faring romance and political allegory set in early New York’s pirate-infested waters. It follows altamira as the vessel and her crew, embroiled in piracy and class conflict.
In stock
Light stain to fore-edge of engraved pages, minor foxing; minor rubbing to binding.
Engraved frontispiece and vignette title.
Victorian Literature
A Tale of the Neutral Ground
London, Colburn and Bentley, 1831.
First UK illustrated edition. 8vo. Contemporary half calf with marbled boards, spine with leather title label and decorations in gilt and blind.
A formative American historical novel set during the Revolutionary War, it follows Harvey Birch, a humble peddler who serves as a covert agent for the Colonial army behind enemy lines. First published in the UK in 1821.
Victorian Literature
London, Greening & Co., 1906.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original orange cloth blocked in gilt.
A scarce title, and a quietly distinctive supernatural novel by Balfour (1846–1909), a British sinologist, editor and novelist who spent much of his career in Shanghai, where he served as editor of the North China Daily News and other publications. The novel concerns a lame teenage boy surrounded by friendly ghosts, who ultimately joins his dead mother in Heaven.
Victorian Literature
London, Trübner, 1888.
Second edition. Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered and ruled in gilt.
A non-fiction political commentary on British-Zulu relations, written after Haggard's return from South Africa. It defends Zulu rights and critiques colonial policies — surprisingly progressive for the time. Uncommon signed.
Victorian Literature
(P'tit Bonhomme)
London, Sampson Low, Marston & Company, n.d. [c.1900].
'New and Cheaper Edition'. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
A heart-warming story of a young Irish orphan's trials and tribulations in the late 19th century.
Victorian Literature
or, The Parish Boy's Progress
London, for the author by Bradbury & Evans, 1846.
First one-vol. edition, 'A New Edition, Revised and Corrected'. 8vo. Original blind-tooled cloth stamped in gilt to upper cover and spine. Presented in 19th century leather-backed cloth solander, spine gilt.
An attractive example of the first one-volume edition of Dickens' second novel, following orphan Oliver from the grimness of the workhouse into the criminal underworld of London, confronting poverty, exploitation, and corruption before eventual rescue. Uncommon, especially in such good condition.