The Second Empire (Signed)

Philip Guedalla

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1926

About this Item

The first edition was published in 1922. This is the 'Second Edition Revised, Fifth Printing, July, 1926.' It is signed and inscribed by the author on the blank first front end paper. I've tried to identify the inscribee but the handwriting is a little difficult. There are only two other signed copies of this title for sale on the Internet. Neither is a first edition. Both are priced well above mine. As you can see from the photos, the covers are in quite decent shape, much better than one would expect from a book published in 1926. The gilt lettering and design on the front is quite bright. On the spine it's not bad but stands out less due to the darkening of the green there. The only real wear on the covers is found on the spine which has tiny creases at its top edge and a spot of light fraying at its bottom edge. As you can see, the covers are mostly clean. There are a few light spots. The covers edges are in very good shape. The corners have only speck-sized light rubbing. The top page edge is gilt. All three page edges are in very good shape. This thick 457 page book is square and very solidly bound from cover to cover. The pages are nicely tight. I found only one instance of a very slight space between facing pages (the blank verso of the half-title page and blank verso of the frontispiece). Both of these pages are perfectly bound. The pages are in very nice condition. I did find one fairly conspicuous 1 inch tear off the outer edge of a page, away from the print. The pages also have a soft crease, a semi-crease, just off the tip of the top corners. It's the sort of thing you see when a little snag bends a group of corners down and that ends up creating a tiny impression on the other pages. To my eye, it's quite minor. There are no turned-down placeholder corner creases or any other kind of creases. The pages are, on the whole, very clean. I scrolled through them many times. I've seen only a very occasional small spot. I would guess no more than ten in total. I also saw two pages with two fingerprints off their outer edge, not touching the print. There are 12 full-page illustrations, including the frontispiece. They are all in excellent condition. The frontispiece is protected by a tissue guard which is also in excellent condition. Neither shows any age which is perhaps quite remarkable. I looked at all of the illustrations. I saw only one with a tiny bit of foxing (two small spots) just off its top edge. The same two spots can be seen on its facing text pages. I didn't see any other foxing in the book. There are no markings anywhere. There is a tiny Brentano's label off the bottom edge of the rear cover. There are no other attachments of any kind. And with the exception of the author's signed inscription, no one has written their name or anything else anywhere in the book. 'Philip Guedalla (12 March 1889 --16 December 1944) was an English barrister, and a popular historical and travel writer and biographer. His wit and epigrams are well-known, one example being "Even reviewers read a Preface," another being "History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other." He also was the originator of a now-common theory on Henry James, writing that "The work of Henry James has always seemed divisible by a simple dynastic arrangement into three reigns: James I, James II, and the Old Pretender". '. Seller Inventory # 002815

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Second Empire (Signed)

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, New York

Publication Date: 1926

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)