The Four Georges, William Makepeace Thackeray — 1st Edition

Publication: London, Privately Printed / Custom Bound (Extracts from The Cornhill Magazine), 1860

Formatting: 8vo. 

Condition Report: Near Fine. This volume is presented in a highly attractive, tightly bound full crushed morocco leather binding that remains impressively bright and supple. The boards and spine exhibit only the most minuscule rubbing to the extremities, while the gilt-ruled borders, raised bands, and lettering are wonderfully sharp and wholly unoxidised. The inner gilt dentelles are equally brilliant, framing vivid and pristine marbled endpapers. Internally, the book is remarkably clean and crisp; the text block is free from any significant foxing or handling wear, and the numerous inserted engraved plates remain bright with only very faint, occasional age-toning to the margins. A remarkably neat and fluid 1891 previous owner's inscription on the front blank flyleaf is the only notable addition. The superb preservation of the leather, the integrity of the hinges, and the overarching cleanliness of the text thoroughly justify the Near Fine grade.

Catalogue Note: This is a unique, extra-illustrated volume comprising the true first printings of Thackeray's historical lectures. Prior to the official book publication, the text was first serialised in The Cornhill Magazine between July and October of the same year. A late nineteenth-century bespoke binder has meticulously extracted these original magazine appearances and united them into a single volume.

To complete the presentation, the binder has supplied a custom-printed title page (which predates the standard first book edition) and heavily extra-illustrated the text. Numerous fine engraved portraits of key historical figures mentioned in the text, including George I, Tobias Smollett, John Wesley, and Frederick the Great, have been carefully tipped-in throughout.

Extra-illustrated copies of Thackeray's historical works were highly prized by Victorian and Edwardian gentleman collectors, though they are increasingly scarce on the open market today. This specific compilation, uniquely bound from the original magazine sheets and housed in an exceptional, albeit unsigned, full morocco binding, represents a highly desirable and individual piece of Thackeray bibliography.

Originally delivered as a series of immensely popular public lectures in Britain and the United States, William Makepeace Thackeray's The Four Georges offers a biting, satirical, and deeply engaging portrait of the Hanoverian monarchs. Rather than a dry political history, Thackeray focuses on the manners, morals, court, and town life of the era, bringing to vivid life the eccentricities, scandals, and societal shifts of eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Britain. Through his characteristically sharp wit and brilliant prose, Thackeray strips away the royal veneer to reveal the deeply flawed human beings beneath the crowns.