Vanity Fair.: A Novel Without a Hero.

London: Bradbury and Evans,, 1848. A sumptuously bound Victorian classic First edition in book form, elegantly bound. Later editions of "this classic novel almost invariably omit Thackeray's vignettes and often give only a selection from his etchings. The reader is deprived thereby not only of much amusement but also of important clues to the meaning of the story" (Ray, p. 75). The novel, first published in serial form from 1847 to 1848 and afterwards in book form, proved a popular success. The sheets were reprinted multiple times, with numerous textual variations between printings, and with the early parts already being reprinted in stereotype before serialization was complete, resulting in 210 variant readings by Shillingsburg's count. Variants both before and after stereotyping were not introduced in an orderly sequence, with the result that individual copies inevitably contain some corrected and some uncorrected sheets. This copy has the traditional points of first impression: first state title page, rustic type at head of page 1, and the Marquess of Steyne woodcut on page 336. The point often given, "Mr. Pitt" at 453.31, is not indicative, as that reading is common to the entire first edition; the change to "Sir Pitt" was not made until the second edition of 1853. Octavo (209 x 127 mm). Early 20th-century blue crushed morocco by Root, spine lettered in gilt, compartments richly floral-tooled in gilt with central red petal onlay, gilt French fillet on covers enclosing floral cornerpieces connected via beaded gilt rules, doublures decorated in similar fashion to covers, blue silk moiré endpapers, edges of contents and boards gilt, red silk bookmarker. Housed in a custom blue cloth slipcase. Etched frontispiece, vignette title page, and 38 plates, wood-engraved vignettes and initials in the text, all after Thackeray. Bound with front advert leaf. Occasional light foxing, still a fine copy. Gordon N. Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914, 122; Wolff 6699. David A. Randall, "Towards a Correct Collation of the First Edition of 'Vanity Fair'", The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, vol. 42, no. 2, 1948; Peter L. Shillingsburg, "The Printing, Proof-reading, and Publishing of Thackeray's Vanity Fair: The First Edition", Studies in Bibliography, vol. 34, 1981.