[Hardy, Thomas.]

8vo, 3 volumes, first edition of the author's first published book, one of 500 copies, original red sand-grain cloth, the first volume blocked in blind on upper and lower covers with decorative border incorporating the words tinsley's magazine--one shilling--monthly-illustrated and headed advertisement, the other two volumes with the regular three-rule border surrounding scoll frame, spines lettered and decorated in gilt, preserved in red cloth folding box volume 1 neatly recased, some slight discoloration to the covers, slight wear to corners, edges and extremities of spine, a few minor nicks to some leaves, minor spotting



hardy's very rare first book in the original cloth, the doheny copy. This is one of the uncommon sets isued with the advertisement for Tinsley Brothers incorporated into the design of the cloth for one of the volumes.

Estelle Doheny, red morocco bookplate, the sale of her collection at Christie's New York, Part IV, 17 and 18 October 1988, lot 1380

Purdy pp.3-5; Wolff 2971;

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

hardy's very rare first book in the original cloth, the doheny copy.

This is one of the uncommon sets isued with the advertisement for Tinsley Brothers incorporated into the design of the cloth for one of the volumes. Purdy records that this style usually appears "in combination with the normal binding, on one or two volumes only of a set".

Desperate Remedies was published anonymously on 25 March 1871. Hardy kept four notices of the novel in a scrap-book of reviews. One of them, published in The Spectator, was so savage that when the author read it, sitting on a stile at the edge of the Kingston Maurward ewe-leaze, "he wished himself dead--showing at this early moment, when his identity was as yet unknown, that extreme vulnerability to hostile criticism which was to recur again and again, even in the days of his greatest success and fame". (Michael Millgate, Thomas Hardy. A Biography).