THE SMALL HOUSE AT ALLINGTON

London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1864. 2 volumes. First edition, with the first printing points "hobbledehoya" page. 33, line 1 and page 70 paginated as "0." in Volume I. With the provenance of William Marchbank with his armorial bookplate. With eighteen illustrations on plates by J. E. Millais, R.A. Tall 8vos, in the publisher's original textured green cloth, all boards handsomely embossed in blind in botanic motif, the upper covers with a large central gilt vignette featuring lettering and floral vines around caged birds, the spines beautifully gilt lettered and decorated in fine Victorian style in a country motif, with brown endpapers printed with ads in black. Now housed in a green cloth slipcase. iv, 312; iv, 316 pp. A very bright and attractive copy well preserved in original state, the text very fresh and clean, a little inconsequential evidence of age or mellowing at the prelims or endleaves, the cloth with a little expected rubbing or age evidence but still very bright with bright gilt, in all a very handsome set of a book seldom found in its original cloth, much less in bright collector's condition. AN EXTREMELY APPEALING COPY, FRESH AND BRIGHT AND CLEAN OF A BOOK SADLEIR SAYS IS TYPICALLY FOUND "EXCEPTIONALLY DIRTY". We are very pleased to point out how well this copy stands as the exception to that rule.
This is the fifth of Trollope's Barsetshire novels and was written at the height of his creative powers and popularity. It follows two of his best-loved heroines, Lillian and Bell Dale. It concerns the Dale family, who live in the "Small House", a dower house intended for the widowed mother of the owner of the estate. As with all of Trollope's novels, this one contains many sub-plots and numerous minor characters. Plantagenet Palliser makes his first appearance, as he contemplates a dalliance with Griselda Grantly, the now-married Lady Dumbello, daughter of the Archdeacon introduced earlier in the Chronicles of Barsetshire.
"SMALL HOUSE" also continues Trollope's association with artist John Millais. Millais displays on this occasion a refined style with finer detailing and more confidence then we saw last in "ORLEY FARM".