Books

First edition of Washington Irving's collection of short stories largely set in Europe, including "The Adventure of the German Student," the first story to employ the head-held-on-by-a-ribbon trope in original boards. After THE SKETCH BOOK and BRACEBRIDGE HALL, Irving suffered from writer's block, which he remedied by traveling to Germany and France. TALES OF A TRAVELLER is the product of his sojourn, resulting in a gaggle of stories told with Irving's flair for the unusual and supernatural. Alongside European-influenced stories such as "The Adventure of the German Student," in which a young man falls in love with a beautiful French woman only to discover she was guillotined before they met, are tales of deals with the devil and buried pirate treasure. This true first edition, published in London, contains five pieces that do not appear in the Carey & Lea first US edition. Two octavo volumes, 8.75'' x 5.5'' each. Original quarter green cloth, brown paper boards, printed paper spine labels. Uncut. BAL state A. 364; 395 pages, collated complete. Armorial bookplates of John Whiteley Ward mounted to front paste-downs of both volumes, with evidence of former bookplate removal surrounding and at rear pastedowns. Boards with some wear and bumping, spines sunned and creased; volume I spine with archival repair. Interior otherwise clean; with only some light toning and foxing.

Tales of a Traveller is a collection of essays and short stories by Washington Irving, published in 1824 and written while he was living in Europe.