Martineau's Complete Guide to the English Lakes, Harriet Martineau — 4th Ed.

£120.00

Martineau's Complete Guide to the English Lakes, Harriet Martineau — 4th Ed.

Name: Martineau's Complete Guide to the English Lakes, Harriet Martineau — 4th Ed.
Brand: Broadhursts Books
SKU: 3420 RM
Price: 120.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

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£120.00

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Publication: Windermere, John Garnett; London, Whittaker & Co., [c. 1855]

Formatting: 8vo, pp. [iv], 233, [3].

Condition Report: Good. The green cloth binding remains structurally sound and tight, displaying bright, unoxidised gilt tooling to the spine and front board. However, the book displays a localised dark stain on the upper front panel and mild cosmetic rubbing to the extremities. Internally, the text block is square, with page edges showing standard age-toning. The front free endpaper bears a neat, contemporaneous fountain-pen ownership signature. The title page and its protective tissue guard exhibit moderate to heavy foxing, though the engraved frontispiece itself remains largely unaffected. Crucially, the folding map is correctly folded and entirely intact, showing only minor age-toning and sporadic foxing, free from the standard tears that plague volumes of this era.

Catalogue Note: This is the celebrated five-shilling edition of Harriet Martineau’s comprehensive guide to the Lake District, published by John Garnett in Windermere. As a direct competitor to William Wordsworth's earlier guides, Martineau's work represents a pivotal moment in Victorian literary tourism, capturing the region just as railway access began to transform the landscape.

The volume is notably complete with its finely engraved frontispiece of Windermere and the crucial large folding map of the English Lakes and Border Lands. The provenance is limited to a single, factual previous ownership signature of E. I. Nicholson on the front endpaper.

While copies of Martineau's guide occasionally appear on the open market, they are frequently found with the folding map detached, torn, or entirely missing. A copy retaining its original structural integrity, with the map intact and the gilt remaining this bright, constitutes an uncommon find.

A foundational text of Victorian travel literature, Harriet Martineau’s Complete Guide to the English Lakes offers a captivating window into the 19th-century Lake District. Combining practical advice for the burgeoning class of railway tourists with vivid topographical and cultural observations, Martineau's prose paints an enduring portrait of the fells, lakes, and local communities. This volume remains an essential piece for collectors of regional British travel history and Lakeland literature.

Book Condition: Very Good

Book Authors: Harriet Martineau

Book Publisher: J. Garnett; Simpkin, Marshall & Co.

Book Language: English

Narrative Type: Non-Fiction

Genre: Travel, Exploration & Adventure

Book edition:

Signed: No

Book Pages: 347

Book Publication Year: 1871

Book Publication Date:

Book Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: W. Banks

Book Series: N/A

Country/region of manufacture: Windermere, United Kingdom

Book Dimensions:

Book Condition Guide

We stock thousands of books in a wide range of conditions. To make things clear and to help you know exactly what to expect, Please refer to these condition categories to understand the condition of the book you will receive.

Condition	Description
New	A brand-new, unread and professionally handled book. Carefully preserved from publication to purchase, these books are offered in the best attainable condition. This grade applies to recently published titles that have not entered long-term storage.
As New	The book is in pristine, original condition as if just published. No signs of use or handling. The dust jacket (if present) is equally flawless. This grade applies to any book that has remained untouched in storage for years.
Fine	The book is close to As New. It remains bright and attractive, but could show minor imperfections to the boards and/or dust jacket (if present). Its pages are typically clean and unmarked.
Near Fine	The book has a number of small flaws, i.e. slight rubbing to the edges, or tiny chips or creases to the dust jacket (if present). Its pages may have faint marks, or creases that are barely perceptible — nothing that detracts from their overall condition.
Very Good	The book maintains its structural integrity, and has no major flaws such as tears to its binding or pages. It may, however, show signs of careful use, handling, or storage — small marks and creases, light foxing. Its dust jacket (if present) remains fully intact, but small tears may be present.
Good	A book that remains intact and readable with complete text pages, but shows moderate signs of wear and use to both the book and dust jacket (if present). It may have noticeable creases, nicks, or stains, and the spine likely shows fading, bumping, and rubbing. There could be writing, underlining, and other marks on some pages, though the majority will be clean and tidy.
Fair	A book with significant wear or damage. The text pages will be complete, but there may be heavy underlining, highlighting and staining throughout, and the book’s endpapers, half-title, and copyright pages could be damaged or missing. The binding could be loose, and the dust jacket (if present) may have notable scuffs or tears. These copies are usually of interest for content, signature(s) or scarcity.
Poor	A heavily worn book whose value lies in its complete and legible text. A poor book will have substantial defects — loose joints or hinges, detached covers, loose and/or missing pages, and could be heavily soiled. A poor book is also known as a reading copy, and although compromised, can hold historical or bibliographic significance.