[EARLY DUST JACKETS] Ivanhoe

New York: The American News Company, 1882. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Octavo, 593pp. "Excelsior edition." A very fine, fresh, clean copy in the publisher's green cloth, stamped in black and gilt. Touch of rubbing in a few places, but an exceedingly sharp example. Contemporary gift inscription on a front blank. In the extremely rare dust jacket, matching the pattern of the cloth. Some shallow chips and creases to extremities, but remarkably well-preserved; near fine. The jacket extends beyond the height of the boards by about 1/4 of an inch, which might explain why so few of these late 19th century dust jackets have endured; it's the first of its kind that we have encountered. The book's publication date is approximate; the publisher's address of "39 and 41 Chambers Street" indicates a date no earlier than 1877, and no later than 1909. Its high Victorian style is much closer to the binding fashions of the 1880s than of the 1900s. In fact, the cloth and stamping match exactly that of a copy of "Tom Brown's School Days," catalogued by a meticulous collector who has dated his book to 1882. A rare and wonderfully preserved example of this 19th century novel in dust jacket.