Schiller

1839 · ref. 005001 — London: Richard Bentley 1839 1839. THIRD EDITION FOURTH PRINTING of the first revised edition of Shelley's masterpiece and the last to contain an illustration with the first printing of the engraved frontis and additional engraved title-page dated 1831. The frontis depicting the creature coming to life. Bound in the publisher's original blind stamped straight grained brown/maroon cloth engraved bookplate of Arnold Henry Robson to front pastedown. Spine expertly relined inner hinges strengthened spine and cover edges slightly sunned text clean and bright some minor foxing or offsetting to the engraved frontis and title-page overall still a GOOD copy of a book becoming increasingly difficult to find. According to RBH only 4 copies of this printing have appeared at auction in the last 25 years. In her introduction Shelley contextualizes the creation of her tale: "It proved a wet ungenial summer and incessant rain often confined us for days to the house. Some volumes of ghost stories translated from the German into French fell into our hands. 'We will each write a ghost story' said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to" This printing was apparently issued with and without the additional engraved frontis dated 1831. We can only assume that additional copies of the 1831 frontis had finally run out with this printing. OCLC/WorldCat locate 9 copies of the 1839 edition 7 without the engraved frontis and only 2 with. London: Richard Bentley, 1839 hardcover