This beautiful antique edition of Shirley by Currer Bell (Charlotte Bronte) was published by Smith, Elder and Co is 1857. This is just 8 years after the first edition and 2 years after the death of Charlotte Bronte. The book is bound in original orange cloth.
The book is in good reading order but as one can see from the photos, there is more wear to the outside. The black lettering and detail is almost completely rubbed away from the front board. There is soiling and marking to the cloth, with air bubbling to the cloth covering the front board and and bleached marking to the back board. The boards and text block are slightly warped, and the corners show light wear and crushing. The spine is very discoloured and darkened, with crushing to the spine ends which has caused minor splitting in the cloth. There is also some rubbing to the black lettering on the spine.
Inside, the pages are remarkably clear and bright with only light toning and marking/foxing. There are no inscriptions or dedications which is unusual for a book this age. There is some light rippling to the pages and superficial cracks to the gutter in places which reveals the binding thread (the pages remain tightly bound).
Dimensions approximately 18cm x 11.5cm x 3.5cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and ribbon.
I use a range of eco friendly, 100% recyclable jiffy bags and boxes, and whenever possible I use brown paper tape. The green bubbled wrap is biodegradable and the clear bubble wrap is 100% recyclable. I also reuse boxes when I feel it's appropriate (if the boxes are sturdy enough.