THE SKETCH BOOK OF GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT. No. I [through:] No. VII

New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, 1819 - 1820.. Seven parts bound in two volumes. Large octavo. 19th century calf, spines gilt extra. Bound without wrappers and adverts. Early manuscript index on front binder's blank in both volumes. Spines darkened and slightly crazed, joints a bit worn and slightly cracked in places (but sound), occasional spotting and foxing to Part I, brown spot in fore-edge of Part VII, clean 5 cm tear in top edge of leaf 63/4 of Part VII, with no loss, still a good set in contemporary dress. Old morocco faced slipcase. First editions, first printings, of each part of Irving's second major sequence publication, with BAL's state 'A' of the text on page 240. Neither the terminal blank for Part I, nor the slip against piracy that was inserted in some copies of Part II are present. THE SKETCH BOOK is among Irving's masterworks, printing for the first time in complete book form "Rip Van Winkle" (Pt. I), "Old Christmas" (Pt. V), and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Pt. VI). "That Americans here first read of Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane is not so important in influencing the culture of the country, as that they learned of these and other gentlemen, and of the Indians, and of old England, through the medium of a musical, rhythmical style, quiet humor and dreamy charm, which instinctively taught taste and sweetness, 'taking pleasure and giving pleasure and always playing the companion rather than the teacher'" - GROLIER AMERICAN HUNDRED. Proper sets in original wrappers are rare and beyond the means of most collectors, and today sound sets, with each part in the first printing, in contemporary bindings, are increasingly less common. BAL 10106. LANGFELD & BLACKBURN, pp. 15-22. JOHNSON HIGH SPOT. GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 31. PETER PARLEY TO PENROD, p.143. WRIGHT I:1430. BLEILER, p.107.