(8) 19th Century Literary & Leather Bound Volumes

Updated August 18, 2026

This auction ended on August 22, 2026. See upcoming auctions from Big Shanty Auction.
Lot number234
Estimate100.00 - 200.00 USD
AuctionAUGUST AUCTION
DateAugust 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT
Auction houseBig Shanty Auction
LocationMarietta, Georgia

Group of eight late 19th-century literary and historical volumes comprising a two-volume set of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, published by J. M. Dent & Co., London, 1898, edited by R. Brimley Johnson and illustrated by H. M. Brock, from Dent’s celebrated ten-volume edition of Austen’s novels; three volumes from Justin McCarthy’s A History of Our Own Times: From the Accession of Queen Victoria to the General Election of 1880, published by Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly, London, circa 1880–1881; and three volumes from The Works of Charles Lamb, New York, W. J. Widdleton, 1878. The Austen volumes are particularly attractive in brown gilt-decorated bindings with floral spine devices and retain the decorative presentation associated with the Brock-illustrated Dent edition, whose illustrations were specially prepared for the 1898 publication. The McCarthy volumes are handsomely bound in brown leather with raised bands and gilt spine lettering, while the Lamb volumes are bound in dark green with red title compartments and gilt decoration. These are partial sets rather than complete runs: McCarthy’s work was issued in four volumes, while Lamb’s Works was issued in five. Condition is consistent with age and use, including rubbing, scuffing, edge and spine wear, losses and abrasions to leather, bumped corners, scattered foxing and toning, and varying degrees of binding wear; the books nevertheless retain considerable decorative shelf presence, with the two-volume 1898 Austen Pride and Prejudice representing the strongest individual component of the group. A complete 1898 Dent Austen set is recognized as a collectible Brock-illustrated edition, making surviving individual novel pairs desirable even when separated from the full ten-volume series.

(8) 19th Century Literary & Leather Bound Volumes

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