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Very rare First Edition. Please note that the Very Good condition rating very much takes into account the fact that the book was published in 1854. The book clearly has flaws which I will describe. But allow me to begin with a strength: the book is very well bound, no cracks, no webbing to be seen, no loose pages. Given that it appears to be the original binding and that I do not see any indications of repair this is quite remarkable. Also, positively, the front cover has very little wear and only minimal soiling. That is also the case for the back cover. On the other hand (and here I'll begin with the imperfections), the front cover and spine are a light brown and the back cover is a dark brown. Somewhere along the line the sun seems to have favored one side over the other (see the photos). On the spine, the lettering is legible and the design is visible. But I suspect it was once in gilt and that is clearly gone now. Also, as you can see in the second photo, there is one eighth of an inch of loss at the top of the spine (not affecting any of the lettering) and a smaller bit of loss at the bottom of the spine. The corners and the edges of the covers look quite good. Moving to the interior of the book, the great majority of the pages have little to no foxing. However, the early and last pages, particularly the title page (see photo), and the plates have moderate to heavy foxing ( on the plates it's mostly, but not entirely, on the margins). Also, the first 20 or so pages, and particularly the title page again, have the outlines of an old water stain. That goes away after that, but can be seen again in the last 20 or so pages of the book. Positively, the great majority of the pages ( the text) look terrific. Surprisingly, the pages are not particularly age-darkened. They look very good. Also, I didn't see any tearing, though it's possible there's something small that I missed. Note, also, that a previous owner underlined the title' Contents Of Volume II ', and placed penciled X's in the margins of most of the Contents pages. However, once the book begins he put his pencil down, picking it up only once, as far as I can see, to mark one page. There are tissue guards before some of the plates, however the foxing seems to have affected the plates with and without the tissue guards. Take a look at the photos. The book has a very solid feel in your hands. 548 pages followed by eight pages of advertisements. From my research, ( and you should, please, do your own, there were two volumes of this 1854 Appleton first. However, the previous owner of this book has penciled a reference to a Volume III. I think he's mistaken, are you may be referring to some other book. I don't really know. So, again, do your own research. Seller Inventory # 000290
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