WHARTON, Edith
 
The House of Mirth; published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York in 1905.
 
Description
 
Octavo. Finely bound in recent full maroon morocco, spine with raised bands, gilt-lettered direct in two compartments, the others decorated with a central gilt fleuron, single gilt rule to boards, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut.
Frontispiece and 7 black and white plates by A. B. Wenzell.
First edition. With the Scribner’s seal to the copyright page. Wharton’s defining social satire of the Gilded Age was an immediate commercial triumph, selling 140,000 copies within two months of publication. This copy avoids the frequent truncation seen during twentieth-century rebinding, preserving its generous, untrimmed margins.
A fine copy. The contemporary style leather binding immaculate, tight, and completely unworn. Internally sound, text block showing mild uniform toning and minor peripheral wear consistent with the original paper stock, the plates clean and sharp. A handsomely presented, premium copy of the author's breakthrough masterpiece.