Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life. [Four volumes with Original Wrappers Bound.]

ELIOT, George (1819–1880). Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1871–1872. FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING. Complete in four volumes, with original wrappers and advertisements retained from the earlier eight-part publication. Octavo (8vo). Collated as follows: Vol. I, [vii], 1–212, 215–410, [38] pp. advertisements; Vol. II, ERRATA leaf, 3–175, 179–377, [12] pp. advertisements; Vol. III, 3–191, 195–384, [8] pp. advertisements; Vol. IV, 1–176, 179–371, [16] pp. advertisements; with the general half-title and title, Prelude, and separate half-titles to all eight Books. Contemporary three-quarter dark blue crushed morocco over blue linen boards, divided by a single gilt fillet; spines with five raised bands, ruled and lettered in gilt and dated 1871; marbled endpapers and top edges gilt. First-issue points include Volume I, page 99, lines 22–24, reading “how could the Miss Brookes and I”; Volume II with the ERRATA slip inserted before the opening chapter. Middlemarch was initially issued in eight paper-bound Books between December 1871 and December 1872. Book 1, Miss Brooke, appeared in December 1871 and is dated 1871; the remaining Books appeared during 1872. In this copy, the original blue-green wrappers are bound at the rear of the respective volumes, comprising front wrappers for Books 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 and seven rear wrappers. The front wrappers for Books 3, 5, and 6 are not present, with no stubs or other evidence that they were ever bound in. Middlemarch’s interwoven study of provincial society, marriage, ambition, political reform, medicine, and the restricted opportunities available to women established Eliot’s position among the foremost English novelists. It remains her acknowledged masterpiece and one of the defining novels of nineteenth-century English literature. Provenance: From the library of William Karl Dick (1888–1953), chairman of the National Sugar Refining Company and grandson of one of the pioneers of the American sugar industry, with his ownership stamp, “William K. Dick, Islip, Long Island.” Dick resided at Allen Winden Farm, his family’s Gilded Age country estate at Islip, and entered the national spotlight through his marriage to Madeleine Force Astor, survivor of the Titanic and widow of John Jacob Astor IV. The appearance of his stamp in similarly bound first editions of other works by George Eliot indicates that this handsome set formed part of a thoughtfully assembled Eliot collection. The contents are clean, unmarked, and remarkably well preserved; a closed ¼-inch marginal tear on the half-title to Book 3, and one ad leaf in Volume IV has a large marginal chip approx. 2½ by ½", without loss of text. The bindings remain sound and square across all four volumes, with bright gilt to the top edges and spines. Volumes I and III have benefited from professional restoration to the spines and hinges. The spines of Volumes II and IV show moderate wear and small chips at the crowns and tails, with a large chip at the crown of Volume II. Near Fine interiors, with Very Good+ exteriors to two volumes and Good+ spines to the other two; overall, a Very Good first-edition set retaining a substantial complement of the original wrappers and advertisements. Baker & Ross A10.1.a(2); Sadleir 815. [Attributes: First Edition Thus; Hard Cover; Original Wrappers Bound; Four Volume Set.].…