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THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING.
(Paris: Didot, 1780). 224 x 140 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 1/2"). Eight volumes.
BEAUTIFUL GREEN MOROCCO FOR SOTHERAN (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), covers framed with graceful twining roses, the flowers inlaid in red and white morocco, raised bands, spine gilt in six compartments, four with inlaid rosebuds, wide morocco turn-ins similarly decorated, leather hinges, scarlet silk moiré endleaves, all edges gilt. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 PLATES from various other editions of the book. Each volume with an added title page printed in red and black. Front pastedown of each volume with the morocco ex-libris of W. A. Foyle. The final volume with the paper wrapper for a booklet of engravings illustrating the story after Alfred Johannot (Paris: Furne, 1836) bound in. Cross III, 318; Day, "History of English Literature, 1660-1837," pp. 229-34. Spines sunned to a uniform tan (as nearly always with green morocco), lower board edges a little rubbed, text with some light foxing and occasional insignificant browning, a handful of plates rather foxed, here and there some offsetting from plates, but the text largely very clean. An extremely pretty set with considerable shelf appeal in excellent condition inside and out.
This is a sumptuously bound extra-illustrated copy of Fielding's 18th century classic, from one of the most important libraries of the last century. Day tells us that this landmark publication, initially printed in 1749, was the first avowed novel in English (Fielding's precursor, Defoe, claimed his stories were true and Richardson said that his were akin to sermons), and a work that some still call the greatest novel in English because of its attention to characters set against the backdrop of society. The plot begins with the finding and raising of Tom by Squire Allworthy and his sister Bridget and then follows Tom's adventures, many amorous, after his banishment from the Allworthy house because of bad behavior. In the comic ending, mysteries are revealed and relationships set aright. Cross says that "no one before Fielding had ever written a novel comparable with his in its reliance upon contemporary facts of human nature, and this brilliant and innovative narrative met with such immediate commercial success that the first printing was sold out before its printing could be finished, and at least four more editions were published in the same year as the first." The text here is accompanied by illustrations from several other editions of the work by artists including George Cruikshank, Thomas Uwins, Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune, and Alfred Johannot. Our handsome copy was bound for the long-established British bookseller Henry Sotheran & Co. Many renowned workshops produced bindings for Sotheran, especially Riviere, the firm's collaborator on their famed "Cosway" bindings. While this binding is unsigned, its tasteful Arts & Crafts style rose design and high-quality execution certainly support an attribution to the Riviere bindery. Also, our copy boasts a distinguished previous ownership: W. A. Foyle (1885-1963) was co-founder with his brother of the famous Foyle's Bookshop in Charing Cross Road. During his career, he built an impressive personal library at his home of Beeleigh Abbey. The three large Foyle sales at Christie's held in 2000 were a bibliophilic highlight of the new century, and the equivalent sum of $19 million for which William Foyle's library sold that July set a record for private European collections. (ST20550)
Price: $9,500.00