This stunning and rare two volume set of the Novels of Jane Austen was published in 1904 by Thomas Nelson. So the books are from the Edwardian era. They contain the complete novels of Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey.
The books are uniformly bound in olive green leather with gold gilt decoration to the front boards and spines. The heart motif is quite rare in books of this age, and I've only seen these Austen editions once before. There is also a school insignia blind stamped in gold gilt to the front boards. The books have their own slipcase, which is lined with marbled paper inside.
Overall, the set is in good condition but there are some condition points to be aware of. The slipcase shows some wear and marking, with rubbing to the corners. The books show significant sunning and fading to the spines and edges of the boards. Pride and Prejudice has some creasing to the boards and sadly there is damage to the top corner of the back board. There is rubbing to the board edges and light wear to the corners. The back board of Sense and Sensibility also shows some creasing.
Inside, the endpapers are marbled to match the inside of the slipcase. There are presentation plates glued to the front pastedowns. The pages are very thin and delicate which has caused some light rippling and creasing. The pages show light age toning and foxing but are otherwise clean and bright.
Each volume has a colour frontispiece with tissue guard (the tissue guard is noticeably foxed). There are some superficial cracks to the gutter in places but the pages remain tightly bound.
Dimensions of the box set approximately 17cm x 12cm x 4.5cm.
The book will arrive hand wrapped in patterned wallpaper and string.
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).