W. M. THACKERAY FIRST EDITIONS AT ASH RARE BOOKS
![]() | W. M. THACKERAY FIRST EDITIONS AT
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FIRST EDITIONS OF WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY | |
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THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863 : VANITY FAIR : A NOVEL WITHOUT A HERO. London : Bradbury & Evans, 1848. First edition, bound from the original monthly parts published between January 1847 and July 1848. The parts in first state, with the “rustic” heading to the first chapter, the inadvertent “Mr. Pitt” rather than “Sir Pitt” on p.453, and the notorious “Marquis of Steyne” wood-engraving (p.336) – an illustration said to have been suppressed, under threat of court action, for its allegedly libellous resemblance to the Third Marquis of Hertford. This has been disputed, but the portrait certainly only appears in the earliest copies of the book – and disappeared very early in the book’s life cycle. £850 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44410 – or simply click on the button
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THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863 : VANITY FAIR : A NOVEL WITHOUT A HERO. London : Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, [ca. 1930]. An attractively bound standard library edition in the Oxford Thackeray series first published in 1908. The text is that of the revised edition of 1864, but all of the original illustrations from the original parts published 1847-1848 are retained. Edited and introduced by George Saintsbury (1845-1933). £75 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 42409 – or simply click on the button
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THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863 : THE HISTORY OF HENRY ESMOND, ESQ. A COLONEL IN THE SERVICE OF HER MAJESTY Q. ANNE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. London : Smith, Elder & Co., 1852-1853. First edition : a mixed set, with the second and third volumes marked “second edition” (i.e. the second printings of the first edition). Opening in 1691 in the days of William of Orange and Queen Mary, ending under Queen Anne in 1718, and generally considered the best historical novel of its time. Interesting in bringing in Addison, Steele and Swift as characters, Trollope thought it Thackeray’s masterpiece, although George Eliot found it “the most uncomfortable book you can imagine”. £250 Currently on display at Bryars & Bryars in central London, please enquire about availability – books@ashrare.com |
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[THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863] : THE ROSE AND THE RING; OR, THE HISTORY OF PRINCE GIGLIO AND PRINCE BULBO. A FIRE-SIDE PANTOMIME FOR GREAT AND SMALL CHILDREN. BY MR. M. A. TITMARSH. London : Smith, Elder & Co., 1855 [but 1854]. First edition. The last of Thackeray’s Christmas stories, a satirical fairy tale, wonderfully illustrated with Thackeray’s own numerous sketches. “But in the meanwhile, and for a brief holyday, let us laugh and be as pleasant as we can. And you elder folks – a little joking and dancing and fooling will do even you no harm. The author wishes you a merry Christmas, and welcomes you to the Fire-side Pantomime”. £250 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 46132 – or simply click on the button
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[THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863] – “PENDENNIS, Arthur – editor” : THE NEWCOMES. MEMOIRS OF A MOST RESPECTABLE FAMILY. London : Bradbury & Evans, 1855. First edition. Set in the decades following on from “Vanity Fair” (and reintroducing some of the characters in peripheral roles), Thackeray gives his most complete exploration of character, wealth, marriage and religion. “One of the few immortal novels ... As a novel of English upper and middle class life, it remains without a rival” (Helen Rex Keller). SOLD |
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[THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863] : A LITTLE DINNER AT TIMMINS’S : AND THE BEDFORD-ROW CONSPIRACY. London : Bradbury & Evans, 1856. First British edition. Two stories, with Thackeray satirical on social climbing, and teasing on a young and possibly mismatched couple. £200 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 46133 – or simply click on the button
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THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863 : CHRISTMAS BOOKS : MRS. PERKINS’S BALL. OUR STREET. DR. BIRCH. London : Smith, Elder & Co., 1866. An early collected edition of Thackeray’s gentle and engaging social satires, delightfully illustrated with his own drawings, which were originally published as Christmas books between 1846 and 1848. “Eschewing what has become a species of conventional Christmas mannerism – depending for interest and genial tone of colouring neither upon yule logs, nor plum puddings, nor branches of mistletoe, nor smoking boar’s heads garnished with bay sprigs and rosemary – Mr. Thackeray’s Christmas offering has all the peculiar and original characteristics of the individual mind of its producer ... the very incarnation of riot-running fancy” (Morning Chronicle, 29th December 1846). £125 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45772 – or simply click on the button
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THACKERAY, W.M. (William Makepeace), 1811-1863 : THE FATAL BOOTS, AND COX’S DIARY. London : Bradbury & Evans, 1860. Two early and amusing Thackeray pieces originally written for the “Comic Almanacks” of 1839 and 1840 and first published in this format in 1855. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 19791 – or simply click on the button
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