Books

[Literature] ISSUED AS VIZETELLY'S THIRD EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13 x 8 cm) pp.429; 360; 387. Publisher's original brown boards, decoratively blocked in red and black, with individual book titled printed on each cover, plain brown linen spines, coated yellow endpapers. Same ink ownership to each volume (date 1919), some shelfwear, corners rubbed, spine tips chipped/worn. Vizetelly first pirated the 1886 Gottsberger/Harpers edition (translated by Bell from the 1884 second French edition) of 'War and Peace' in the autumn of that year. Later editions followed in 1887 and 1888. Following Vizetelly's imprisonment for obscene libel, his son reissued the second and third editions from new premises in Henrietta Street, which can be regarded as either the third edition second state, or the fifth or sixth Vizetely editions overall. No early Vizetelly edition is recorded sold at auction in the publisher's card binding. This is a rare opportunity to obtain just such a copy! Information regarding states supplied by Andrew Chapman in private correspondence; Chapman, Bibliography of Vizetelly and Co. (EER, forthcoming 2020), A.15.[III].3.ii.

War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published serially, then in its entirety in 1869. It is regarded as one of Tolstoy's finest literary achievements and remains a classic of world literature. The narrative chronicles the history of the French invasion of Russia through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families and reflects on the philosophical themes of war, peace, and the human condition.