first edition
1862
by Trollope, Anthony
1862. [the fine Sadleir/Slater copy] London: Chapman and Hall, 1862. Original blind-stamped purple-brown cloth with gilt-decorated spines.
First Edition in book form, of the first of the eight Trollope novels to appear in serial parts. These two volumes were issued almost ten months apart during serialization of the twenty monthly parts -- with each part containing two plates by the renowned Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais. "While it is primarily a tragedy of misdirected maternal love, the book contains much of the best Trollopian humor, and includes the portrait of his finest gentleman, Sir Peregrine Orme" [Gerould]. In his autobiography Trollope later noted, "The plot... is probably the best I have ever made... I do not know that there is a dull page in the book." George Orwell stated that ORLEY FARM contains "one of the most brilliant descriptions of a lawsuit in English fiction. ORLEY FARM is notoriously complex bibliographically -- since with each separate volume, unsold or even unbound serial parts were somewhat randomly used to create this book-form edition. As described in detail by Sadleir, there are generally four issues of the first edition, and since the two volumes were published separately, their issue points are generally independent of each other. The first issue of each volume consists solely of volumes bound up from the serial parts, with stab-holes evident; subsequent issue points are very minor, primarily reflecting the changing printer's imprint on the title verso and the change in several plates' underlines. In this set, Vol I is generally fourth issue (with the "Clowes H" imprint on the title verso, and the cloth grain running vertically), while Vol II is a mix between third and fourth (with the fourth issue's "Clowes H" on the title verso, but with the third issue's vertical cloth grain). With all of the confusion regarding issue points, the most important factor of any ORLEY FARM becomes its condition -- and both volumes are in amazingly fine, bright condition (just a hairline crack in the Vol II endpapers) -- as befits the fastidious prior owners cited below. Though not a scarce Trollope title, copies in this condition are scarce. Sadleir (Trollope) 13. Housed in a morocco-backed slipcase with leather labels, and interior chemise. Provenance: bookplate of the Trollope bibliographer Michael Sadleir; bookplate of [W.W.] Yardley; also, although he eschewed bookplates, this was the Dr. Gerald E. Slater copy (Christie's landmark sale of his fine-condition literature, 12 February 1982, lot 463). (Inventory #: 15660)
First Edition in book form, of the first of the eight Trollope novels to appear in serial parts. These two volumes were issued almost ten months apart during serialization of the twenty monthly parts -- with each part containing two plates by the renowned Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais. "While it is primarily a tragedy of misdirected maternal love, the book contains much of the best Trollopian humor, and includes the portrait of his finest gentleman, Sir Peregrine Orme" [Gerould]. In his autobiography Trollope later noted, "The plot... is probably the best I have ever made... I do not know that there is a dull page in the book." George Orwell stated that ORLEY FARM contains "one of the most brilliant descriptions of a lawsuit in English fiction. ORLEY FARM is notoriously complex bibliographically -- since with each separate volume, unsold or even unbound serial parts were somewhat randomly used to create this book-form edition. As described in detail by Sadleir, there are generally four issues of the first edition, and since the two volumes were published separately, their issue points are generally independent of each other. The first issue of each volume consists solely of volumes bound up from the serial parts, with stab-holes evident; subsequent issue points are very minor, primarily reflecting the changing printer's imprint on the title verso and the change in several plates' underlines. In this set, Vol I is generally fourth issue (with the "Clowes H" imprint on the title verso, and the cloth grain running vertically), while Vol II is a mix between third and fourth (with the fourth issue's "Clowes H" on the title verso, but with the third issue's vertical cloth grain). With all of the confusion regarding issue points, the most important factor of any ORLEY FARM becomes its condition -- and both volumes are in amazingly fine, bright condition (just a hairline crack in the Vol II endpapers) -- as befits the fastidious prior owners cited below. Though not a scarce Trollope title, copies in this condition are scarce. Sadleir (Trollope) 13. Housed in a morocco-backed slipcase with leather labels, and interior chemise. Provenance: bookplate of the Trollope bibliographer Michael Sadleir; bookplate of [W.W.] Yardley; also, although he eschewed bookplates, this was the Dr. Gerald E. Slater copy (Christie's landmark sale of his fine-condition literature, 12 February 1982, lot 463). (Inventory #: 15660)
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