This beautiful and scarce early edition of The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang was published by Longmans, Green and Co in 1899 (fifth impression of the book). So the book is from the latter part of the Victorian era.
***Please note that some of the illustrations have been coloured in and the book has been priced to reflect this***
The book is bound in green cloth with stunning gilt decoration to the front board and spine. It's in good condition but there are signs of wear. The book has a forward lean and the cloth at the corners has worn through to the board beneath. The spine is darkened and creased with rubbing to the edges. The spine ends are crushed which has caused minor splitting in the cloth. There is some rubbing and dulling to the gilt, and the boards show minor marking. The board edges show light wear and bumping.
Inside, the pages show age toning and marking throughout, with sporadic foxing. As mentioned above, some of the illustrations have been coloured in and there are a couple of hand drawn illustrations on the back of plates. There are cracks to the gutter in places but no loose pages.
Andrew Lang, with the publisher Longmans, Green and Co, selected and edited twenty five collections of stories that were published within fourteen years. They proved popular when they were released and they have survived the test of time to become sought after editions for collectors. The antique editions are known for having beautiful and decorative covers (like this one!). He began with The Blue Fairy Book in 1889 and ending with The Strange Story Book in 1913.
Dimensions approximately 18.5cm x 13.5cm x 3cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and string. The bubble wrap I use is 100% biodegradable and the jiffy bags are recyclable.
Where possible, I use 100% recyclable paper tape, but sometimes I have to use clear plastic tape for extra strength.