Hare

1848 · ref. W1799 — London: John W. Parker 1848. 2 volumes: frontispiece 4 ccxxxii 504 pages; and frontispiece 4 649 1 pages. 12mo. First editions. Bound in full tan leather by 19th century Glasgow bookbinders Carss & Co.; marbled edges and endpapers. Published 3 years after the death of British writer John Sterling 1806-1844 at age 38 these two volumes contain much of his output as well as a memoir of his life by Charles Hare. Included are most of his fantasy tales among which are the novella The Onyx Ring five of the fantasy tales that were imbedded in the novel Arthur Coningsby and the longer short story "A Chronicle of England" which Murray Ewing describes as "a delightful fairy-haunted picture of England in the days before it received its first human inhabitants." John Sterling had long languished in obscurity but today he is hailed by many as an important progenitor of fantastical literature. In the Encyclopedia of Fantasy John Clute and John Grant argue that Sterling has to be considered "the most significant UK pioneer of fantasy." In The Dedalus Book of British Fantasy: The 19th Century Brian Stableford states: “Sterling would surely have become one of the leading writers of his day had he not died so young and he might well have become the most important nineteenth century fantasy writer; his prose fantasies are more various and more adventurous than any other contemporary work.” Very good condition: both volumes are clean and tight with some rubbing along edges of covers and spine. There is a Bloomingdales price sticker affixed to the verso of the front free endpaper in each volume. Rare: WorldCat locates only 5 copies in libraries worldwide. First Edition. Hardcover. Collectible-Very Good. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Book. John W. Parker Hardcover