Piccadilly. A Fragment of Contemporary Biography

OLIPHANT, Laurence (1829-1888). [DOYLE, Richard, illustrator]

Published by Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1870

About this Item

[Satirical novel] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[13] 328 [5]. With eight engravings, including a tissue-guarded frontispiece, by Richard Doyle. Gold vein marbled endpapers. Red half calf with gold vein marbled paper over boards and gilt rulings to red borders. Gilt embellishment as well as twin green morocco title labels to spine, raised bands. With top edge gilt. Interior is mostly clean with a few minor stains and toning to edges. Guttering is split to pages 326-327, although the binding remains firm. Ownership label to paste-down. Leather is rubbed and toned, especially to spine. A few marks and minor sunning to upper board. Very good. A keen travel writer from his adolescence, Laurence Oliphant served as secretary to James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, and then later in his life, as the liberal MP for Stirling burghs. He wrote his novel 'Piccadilly' in the wake of his short-lived political career, having by this point formed the opinion that society is full of madness and hypocrisy.

Seller Inventory # 63273

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Piccadilly. A Fragment of Contemporary Biography
• Publisher: Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1870
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • Illustrated & Plate Books