This beautiful antique edition of The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell was published by Smith, Elder and Co is 1864. The book is bound in original orange cloth with black detailing to the boards.
Mrs Gaskell was approached by Patrick Bronte (Charlotte's father), asking her if she would write the biography of Charlotte's Life. Despite this, Mr Bronte was not happy with the end product and the book caused a huge amount of controversy for the time. The second edition would be edited.
The book is in fair condition considering it's 160 years old. There is wear and crushing to the corners, and the boards show some marking and general soiling. There is also air bubbling to the cloth covering the boards and discolouration around the edges. The spine is shaken and the text block also feels loose. The spine is very faded and discoloured, and crushing to the spine ends has caused splitting in the cloth. There is a longer split to the head of the spine, where it joins the back board.
Inside, the hinges are cracked and the binding feels shaky (some of the page segments feel a little loose - but there are no detached pages). There are no inscriptions or dedications which is unusual for a book this age, but the pages do show some toning and light foxing. There are cracks to the gutter throughout.
Dimensions approximately 17.5cm x 11.5cm x 2.7cm.
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).