THE ADVENTURES OF PHILIP. On his Way through the World... In Three Volumes

1862. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1862. Original violet-blue cloth.

First Edition of Thackeray's last completed novel -- involving a sham marriage, blackmail by a clergyman, a family fortune lost by Philip's father who then fled to America, a fiancée therefore opting for a wealthier rival, and of course, the finding of a lost will of a great-uncle. PHILIP is more commonly encountered in one of two brown cloth bindings. Sadleir goes into considerable detail to explain why these violet-blue copies of PHILIP were the first to be bound up but the last to be actually issued; central to his theory is the curious misprint at the foot of the spines: (truncated) "Smith & Elder" -- curious because the firm had altered its name to "Smith, Elder & Co." no later than 1826, which was prior to the period of brass-imprinting of cloth spines. Carter likewise theorizes in great detail, saying that he had long suspected the bluish copies were earlier but that he was no longer so sure. This is a very good-plus set (spines slightly faded, typical minor wear along the joints due to the spines being wider than the text blocks). Sadleir 3186; Wolff 6690; Parrish 124b; Carter BV pp 158-159. (Inventory #: 14244)