THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
by Butler, Samuel
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
Westport, Connecticut, United States
Item Price
NZ$814.58
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Grant Richards. Very Good. 1903. First Edition. Hardcover. Boards with light rubbing to extremities and with slight darkening. Light crease to spine. Front hinge has a bit of play, rear hinge slightly gapping. Former owner's name on front endpaper; Originally written between 1872 and 1884, but published posthumously. Dark red boards with gilt lettering and gilt spine lettering. In custom slipcase; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall; 424, 12 pages .
Synopsis
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler is a semi-autobiographical novel that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. The story traces the history of the Pontifex family from the early eighteenth century until about 1880 and focuses, for the most part, on the life of young Ernest Pontifex, the novel’s protagonist. Yet Ernest isn’t born until 1835, in the book’s 17th chapter. Butler uses the first 16 chapters to provide a psychological portrait of the Pontifex family background as a means of allowing readers to understand what factors have gone into forming Ernest’s personality and the longevity of the chains of tradition he must break. Upon publication in 1903, the book seemed very much of its time, an early 20th century groundbreaker alongside the work of Sigmund Freud and Pablo Picasso. The Way of All Flesh seemed to celebrate the end of the Victorian age just as it was decidedly over. But in fact, Butler had written the book decades earlier, between 1873 and 1884, though he deemed it too shocking for publication during his lifetime. As a result, Richard Alexander Streatfeild, a friend of Butler’s, arranged the publication — as the author requested of him — a year after his death. Streatfeild proved to be a good friend indeed as The Way of All Flesh was ranked twelfth on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Read More: Identifying first editions of THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
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Details
- Bookseller
- Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 17913
- Title
- THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
- Author
- Butler, Samuel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Grant Richards
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1903
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction;
Terms of Sale
Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore
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About the Seller
Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore
Biblio member since 2004
Westport, Connecticut
About Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore
The Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore grew out of The Complete Traveller Bookstore, the first travel bookstore in the United States. Owners Harriet and Arnold Greenberg were (and are) travel writers and Arnold, a life-long collector of antiquarian books. Many customers have combined their purchases of new guidebooks with editions of older classics. While the largest number of titles in the Antiquarian Bookstore are travel related, our collections include many first editions of fiction and literature, and even some unusual children's books. Those of you who have visited our store have seen one of the country's premier collections of authentic Baedekers. The small red-covered books are considered the first modern travel guides and are treasured for their great historic detail and fold out maps throughout. From the rare "Indien" to the prosaic "Central Italy," we have them all. We are proud of our rapidly expanding collection of rare titles dealing with the history, culture, peoples and communities of New York City and New York State. Other specialties include: The A&C Black Twenty Shilling series--books to far-flung destinations that are filled with scores of colorful illustrations. And, the state and city guides of the American Guide Series, a depression-era project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and written by many who later became renowned.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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