The Hunchback or Bell-Ringer of Notre Dame. By Victor Hugo. London: T. Allman, and Charles Daly, 1840.
A very rare early edition of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame, and one of the earliest obtainable editions.
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Provenance:
Armorial bookplate of "Henry Q. Blenny" with the motto "Sensus Communis" (common sense). The bookplate depicts a double headed Phoenix in a decorative border with a palm of a hand raised above.
Half brown calf over paper marbled boards with blindstamping and gilt tooling to spine. Spine rubbed with some uneven discolouration and lacking tooled label. Backstrip lightly peeling at the top and bottom form the front joint. Both boards loosely attached with rubbing along joints, front joint starting, and both hinges cracked. The front board being more fragile. Boards scuffed and rubbed with marks. Shelf and edge wear. Marbled page edges, somewhat dulled. Bookplate attached to front pastedown. Very small tears to ffep. Small damp stain to the side edge of the first few leaves. Frontispiece, engraved title, and title page foxed. Text block fairly clean with light toning and some foxing.
