Almanach de Gotha — Soixante-Troisième Année (Sixty-Third Year)

Publication: Gotha, Chez Justus Perthes, 1826

Formatting: 16mo, pp. [xxiv], 392.

Condition Report: Very Good. The publisher's original printed orange cartonnage remains remarkably bright, displaying the central allegorical figures and decorative borders cleanly, though it exhibits standard, minor rubbing to the extremities and slight, superficial wear along the fragile spine joints. The binding remains tight and structurally sound, with the text block squarely seated. The all-edges gilt text block is exceptionally luminous and unmarred. Internally, the pages present moderate, uniform foxing, most notably to the preliminary leaves and engraved plates, which is entirely standard for the paper stock of this era; however, the text and delicate engravings remain sharply struck and entirely legible. Crucially, the volume is housed in its original, matching decorative slipcase. The slipcase shows expected edge-wear, mild surface rubbing, and minor structural wear to the corners, but remains fully intact and functional, having admirably preserved the volume within.

Catalogue Note: This is the 1826 annual edition of the renowned Almanach de Gotha, complete with its original frontispiece and internal engraved plates. First published in 1763, the Gotha was famously printed in French—the standard language of European diplomacy; and served as the authoritative register of European royalty and higher nobility.

A particularly noteworthy aspect of this copy's provenance is the presence of an English bookseller's ticket affixed to the slipcase interior: "Treuttel & Würtz, Booksellers, Successors to Mr. DeBoffe, 30 Soho Square, London." Treuttel & Würtz were significant international book dealers operating in Paris, Strasbourg, and London, indicating that this specific copy was contemporaneously exported and sold to the English market.

While finding these early nineteenth-century issues on the open market is not unusual, their survival in the original publisher's boards is uncommon. The retention of the highly fragile, matching slipcase significantly elevates the desirability of this specific example, as these small, utilitarian pocket guides were heavily handled, pocketed, and often subsequently bound in more durable leather.

An exceptionally well-preserved 1826 edition of the famed Almanach de Gotha, the definitive directory of Europe's royal and noble houses. Published annually, the Gotha served as an indispensable pocket guide for nineteenth-century diplomats, courtiers, and the European elite, offering exhaustive genealogical, diplomatic, and statistical data. This particular copy, surviving complete with its delicate original printed slipcase and a contemporary London bookseller's ticket, offers a highly tangible, un-restored glimpse into the interconnected, cosmopolitan world of post-Napoleonic Europe.