Description
The first edition, first issue of Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace, in a fine binding by Whitman Bennett of New York.
Octavo, [4], 552pp, 12pp ads. Full blue morocco, title stamped in gilt, six compartments with ornate gilt, raised bands. All edges gilt, gilt dentelle, marbled endpapers. Publisher’s first state cloth binding bound at rear. Decorative binding by Whitman Bennett of New York. Previous owner’s blindstamp on second free endpaper. Light sunning to the spine, internally fine.
This copy is the first issue, with 1880 on the title page, the two-line dedication page noting “To The Wife Of My Youth” and “be-became on p. 11, lines 37-38. (BAL 20798) (Grolier American 82)
An attractive piece.
