[Kingsley, Charles- Two First Editions, Including the Scarce First Issue with the Poem "L'Envoi"] The Water-Babies a Fairy Tale for a Land Baby

London & Cambridge: Macmillan & Co., 1863.

First Edition, First Issue. Three-quarter calf, marbled boards with gilt vignette on cover, re-backed. 350pp. The scarce 1st edition, 1st issue, with L'Envoi poem at leaf B (following erratum page), which was suppressed by Kingsley during the printing of the first edition. Superb and celebrated frontispiece by J. Noel Paton, others in the text. Front cover detached, wear; [together with] a splendid copy of the first edition copy (without the suppressed plate) in full green publisher's cloth, with the main fault being fraying and peeling at base of spine affecting small corner of cover (in need of repair), corners worn, slight loss of gilt to ruling on perimeter. Advertisement leaf at front, clean and bright internally. First editions of Water-Babies in the original cloth are extremely scarce, and so is the first issue without "L'Envoi" poem.

Price: $2,250.00   Item #6347