1894 Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ~ Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult ~ Monster

1894
Frankenstein
Or, The Modern Prometheus
By Mrs. Mary W. Shelley

Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult

Publisher:
Chicago: Donohue, Henneberry & Co., no date, circa 1894.

Features:
Measures 6.1 x 4.4 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Desert-rose cloth with embossed silver-gilt stamping.
Patterned endpapers.
294 pages plus a short book catalog.

Note: The Handy Volume Classics series in this format was only issued in 1894, likely making this the first and only printing of this edition.

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1883 Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ~ Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult ~ Monster

1883
Frankenstein
Or, The Modern Prometheus
By Mary W. Shelley

Rare Antique Book ~ Victorian ~ Original Decorative-Cloth Publisher's Binding ~ Gothic Novel ~ Horror ~ Supernatural ~ Science Fiction ~ Occult

Publisher:
New York: John W. Lovell, no date, circa 1883.

Features:
Measures 7.1 x 4.9 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Green cloth with embossed gold-gilt and black stamping.
Floral-patterned endpapers.
177 pages.
After which, there are two short stories by Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Haunted and the Haunters or The House and the Brain (28 pages) and Calderon, the Courtier (53 pages).

Note: The Lovell publishing company only existed from 1878 to 1891. This book contains an owner's signature dated 1883. The “Lovell’s Library” series was first advertised in 1884, likely making this 1883 printing the first edition in this format.

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1855 Rare Antique Victorian Almanac with Mystical Gothic Esoteric Zodiac Astrology Occult Arts Binding

1855

The Boston Almanac for the Year 1855

By Damrell & Moore, and George Coolidge

Rare Antique Book ~ First Edition ~ Exquisite Mystical Victorian Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding with Gold-Gilt Zodiac Symbolism

Calendars ~ Phases of the Moon ~ Eclipses ~ Masonic Temples ~ Freemason Bodies ~ Coroners ~ Cemeteries ~ Medicine ~ Folding Map ~ Trade Ads ~ Engravings ~ Lodging ~ Government ~ Streets, Roads, Avenues ~ Public Buildings, Halls, Offices ~ Railroads ~ Bus Stations ~ Wharves ~ Transportation ~ Societies ~ Militia ~ Custom Houses ~ Post Offices ~ Steamers ~ Packets ~ Amusements ~ Newspapers ~ Municipal, State, and National Register, Etc.

Victorian Advertising Including Printers, Lithographers, Engravers, Electrotypers, Draughtsman, Illustrators, Designers, Type Foundry, Hardware, Tools, Railroad Ticket Stock, Fancy Paper, Booksellers, Furnaces, Stoves, Cutlery, Lightning Rods, Scales, Clothing, Perfume, Pens, Chocolate, Cocoa, Burning Fluid, Marble, Dye, Fertilizer, Architects, Pianos, Etc.

Publisher:
Boston: John P. Jewett & Co., 1855.

Features:

• First Edition.
• Measures 5.3 x 3.3 inches.
• Original decorative-cloth publisher’s binding: Blue cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping of branches or vines intertwined with zodiac symbols and lettering on the front, and an industrious figure on the back.
• Textblock all edges gilt.
• Folding map of Boston dated 1855 (New Map of the City of Boston Comprising the Whole City with the New Boundaries of the Wards Engraved Expressly for the Boston Almanac for 1855).
• Many business, trade, and manufacturing ads, some printed in gold on blue stock.
• Numerous engravings.
• 196 pages plus ads.

Condition:
Very Good +.
The covers are generally very clean and bright with minor scuffs and a few nearly invisible small spots to the back. The textblock is solid and square. The edge of the folding map is not quite even with the edge of the closed pages. The pages are very clean and bright. No writing or marking.

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1891–'2 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman "Deathbed Edition" (first edition of Whitman’s final authorized version)

1891–'2
Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman

Including Sands at Seventy . . . 1st Annex,
Good-Bye my Fancy . . . 2d Annex,
A Backward Glance o’er Travel’d Roads,
and Portrait from Life.

First Edition Thus ~ Rare Antique Book ~ First “Deathbed Edition” with the author’s printed signature, “23 South Ninth Street” address, and “1891–’2” on the Title Page ~ Original Publisher's Binding

Publisher:
Philadelphia: David McKay, 1892.

Features:
Published two months before his death, this is the first issue of Whitman’s final authorized version of Leaves of Grass including his note on the copyright page recommending it for all future printings.

First edition thus, showing the author’s printed signature, “23 South Ninth Street” publisher address, and the date “1891–’2” on the title page.

Measures 8.6 x 6 inches.
Original publisher’s binding: Green cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping.
Textblock top edge gilt.
One full-page plate (portrait of Whitman) with a tissue guard after page 28.
438 pages.
Pages: endpapers, 1 blank, 1–438, 2 blanks, endpapers.

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Ca. 1899 Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales Complete Illustrated Victorian Edition in the Original German

Ca. 1899
Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales
The only original German edition provided by the author himself

Rare Antique Book ~ Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding ~ Exquisite Illustrations and Plates ~ Elves ~ Gnomes ~ Fairies ~ Goblins ~ Giants ~ Monsters ~ Witches ~ Magic ~ Enchanted Forests ~ Supernatural ~ Sorcery ~ Animals ~ Mermaids ~ Kings ~ Queens ~ Princes ~ Princesses ~ Demons ~ Magic ~ Occult

Publisher:
Leipzig: Ed. Wartig’s Verlag Ernst Hoppe, no date, circa 1899.

Features:
Measures 8.7 x 6.3 inches.
Original decorative-cloth publisher’s binding: Red cloth with embossed gold-gilt and black tooling and pictorial color stamping.
Textblock edges lightly marbled.
Patterned endpapers.
Eight full-page tinted plates including the frontispiece.
Many part-page pictures and vignettes throughout and an additional full-page illustration.
752 pages.

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Ca. 1900 The Poetical Works of Jean Ingelow ~ Rare Antique Book ~ Exquisite Victorian-Era Art Nouveau Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding Inspired by Margaret Armstrong’s Binding Design for The Rossettis

Ca. 1900

The Poetical Works of Jean Ingelow
Reprinted from the Three-Volume English Edition, with Many Additions

Rare Antique Book ~ Exquisite Victorian-Era Art Nouveau Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding Inspired by Margaret Armstrong’s Binding Design for The Rossettis ~ Classic Poetry ~ Embossed Gold Gilt Stamping

Publisher:
New York: A. L. Burt, no date, circa 1900.

Features:
Measures 7.5 x 5.3 inches.
Original decorative-cloth publisher’s binding: Blue cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping of berries or grapes and vines intertwined with a gate or trellis.
Textblock top edge gilt.
Frontispiece with tissue guard.
621 pages.

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1890 Antique American Victorian Needlework Sampler by Sarah Rebecca with Embroidered Bible Proverb 22:2, Birds, Flowers, Tree, Alphabets, Numbers

1890 Sampler by Sarah Rebecca

Antique ~ American Victorian Needlework ~ Embroidery ~ Old Wooden frame

Features:
Outer frame dimensions: 15.5 x 15.5 inches.
Inner frame dimensions: 13.63 x 13.63 inches.
Colorful embroidered alphabets, numbers, tree, birds, flowers, and a biblical quote of Proverbs 22:2 “The rich and the poor meet together the Lord.”
Cross-stitches on the outer border.

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Ca. 1853 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (New York: Leavitt & Allen. The Santa Claus Gift Story Books)

Ca. 1853
Gulliver’s Travels
By Jonathan Swift

Rare Antique Book ~ Classic Literature ~ Fantasy ~ Victorian Decorative-Cloth Publisher’s Binding ~ Embossed Gilt Stamping ~ Illustrated with Woodcut Engravings

Publisher:
New York: Leavitt & Allen, no date, circa 1853.

Features:
Measures 6.3 x 4.8 inches.
Original Victorian decorative-cloth publisher’s binding.
Beautiful green-gray blind-stamped cloth with embossed gold-gilt stamping on the spine.
Vignette title page, frontispiece, and numerous other illustrations.
310 pages.

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1832 The Apocryphal New Testament (Boston: N. H. Whitaker, 1832. Early American Bible. Rare First-State Misprint.)

1832

The Apocryphal New Testament,

Being all the gospels, epistles, and other pieces now extant attributed, in the first four centuries, to Jesus Christ, his apostles, and their companions, and not included in the New Testament by its compilers.

Translated, and now first collected into one volume, with prefaces and tables, and various notes and references from the last London Edition.

Early American Bible ~ Rare First-State with Misprinted Title Page ("APOCRYAHAL")

Publisher:

Boston: N. H. Whitaker, 1832.

Features:
First printing, first state of the rare Whitaker edition.
Measures 7.5 by 4.8 inches.
Original publisher’s binding
290 pages.

Extremely rare first-state version with the misprinted title ("APOCRYAHAL NEW TESTAMENT"), which was corrected in subsequent states of the first print run.

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