XIX Century Fiction, A Bibliographical Record [2 volumes, complete; new, in publisher's shrinkwrap]

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Maurizio Martino Publisher, 1992. 2 separate HARDCOVER volumes, complete. BRAND NEW in perfect condition. STILL SEALED in the publisher's clear plastic SHRINKWRAP. NO rubbing. NO fading. Bright, clean, square and tight. Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NO remainder mark. Fresh and crisp -- obviously never read. No date (but 1992, First Martino printing "strictly limited to 350 copies"). A key reference. Illustrated with 48 plates, mostly photos of bindings and title pages. Facsimile reprints of the two volume set, both originally published in 1951. Vol. I: xxxiii, 399pp. + 32 plates. Vol II: vi, 195pp. + 16 plates. Subtitle: A Bibliographical Record Based On His Own Collection. Contained here are thousands of detailed descriptions, many with extensive notes. The introductory essay should be required reading for all book collectors. According to Otto Penzler, "these volumes illustrate how great a collection can be." In his address to the 1995 annual meeting of the Bibliographical Society of America, Stephen Weissman of Ximenes Rare Books paid tribute to this work. He said XIX CENTURY FICTION "remains to this day perhaps my favorite single contribution to bibliography. I am not alone in my admiration... If a new collector comes into my shop, as happens from time to time, or if a young bookseller asks me for guidance, as happens all too often these days, this is inevitably the first book I recommend... (Sadleir's) book has had as much influence on collecting, whether sentimental or scholarly, as any other I can think of." Among the authors comprehensively covered are W. H. Ainsworth, R. D. Blackmore, the Brontes, Bulwer Lytton, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Gissing, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Richard Jefferies, Charles Kingsley, Henry Kingsley, Joseph Le Fanu, Charles Lever, Frederick Marryat, George Meredith, Ouida, Charles Reade, Somerville & Ross, William Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, Mrs. Frances Trollope, Mrs. Henry Wood, etc. Works by many other authors, such as Poe, Stowe, Twain, Melville, and Hawthorne, are also described. Breslauer/Folter 209: "The fundamental bibliography of Regency and Victorian fiction... by one of the most influential English bibliographers..." Uniformly bound in the original gilt-stamped maroon cloth. Besterman 2159. Oversize Hardcover. 8.5" wide by 11.25" tall. This heavy 2 volume set will require extra postage for Priority and International shipments. But for media mail, you pay only our standard charge for 1 volume and we ship the second volume at no extra cost.. First Martino printing, Limited to 350. Oversize Hardcover. New/in publisher's shrinkwrap. 2 volumes: xxxiii, 399pp. + vi, 195pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.