Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: The Four Facardins: A Fairy Tale by Count Anthony Hamilton (Limited Edition) Missing the frontispiece. Edgeworn corners and spine with torn cloth at upper spine edge. Owner's name stamp to front endpaper. Offset toning to front and back free endpapers. Some foxing to prelims. Hairline split to endpapers, binding is still firm. Limited Edition. #411 (??) of 680 copies printed. The frontispiece is not present. This may be one of the unnumbered out-of-series remainders without frontispieces. The "411" may have been added later. Original gilt decorated green cloth, leather spine label stamped gilt. "Leonard Smithers and Co." at spine base. Title page printed in red and black. This book design was reportedly originally meant for Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband".
Seller: Heartwood Books and Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$825.00 + shipping
Description: A limited printing of the first edition (1000). In 1996, critic Bindon Russell wrote in "The Wildean" that "An Ideal Husband" is "the most autobiographical of Wilde's plays, mirroring, as it does, his own situation of a double life and an incipient scandal with the emergence of terrible secrets. Whilst Lord Goring is a character with much of Wilde's own wit, insight and compassion, Gertrude Chiltern can be seen as a portrait of Constance [Wilde]." 8vo, 213pp, brown-red linen over boards, gilt stamped decoration on front cover and spine; gilt titles on spine. Spine ruffled at tips, tear 1" from top. With bookplates of Herschel V. Jones and Alfred and Sara Bernheim. Internally clean, some pages uncut. Sold as is.
Seller: Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, ABAA, Garrison, NY, U.S.A.
Oscar Wilde. An Ideal Husband. Leonard Smithers, London UK, 1899.
Price: US$960.65 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition of 1000 stated copies published by Leonard Smithers in 1899.Cover design by Charles Shannon. Bound in original mauve cloth. Spine sunned. Head of spine bumped. Wear at foot of spine. Wear to tips of corners. Lower front corner soft. Inside, book plate of the Earl of Mexborough (probably 5th) on the inside cover. The current seat is Arden Hall in Yorkshire. Tanning/foxing to endpapers. Light foxing to preliminary pages. Photos to be added by 1/9/22 or please enquire.
Seller: Begging Bowl Books, Lincoln, United Kingdom
WILDE, Oscar.. An Ideal Husband.. Leonard Smithers, London., 1899.
Price: US$1216.82 + shipping
Description: First edition. Octavo. pp [xvi], 213. One of 1000 copies. Original gilt decorated cloth. A drama in four acts.Bookplate on front pastedown. Covers marked and rubbed at head and tail of spine. Possible water-staining to the lower half of the spine. Endpapers faintly spotted. Very good.
Seller: Peter Ellis, Bookseller, ABA, ILAB, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1300.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Limited printing first edition (1000). Very Good hardcover, no DJ. Brown-red linen over boards, gilt stamped foliate design on front cover and spine; gilt titles on spine. Clean, square, lightly scuffed covers and spine; spine gilt somewhat dulled; tightly bound; title page unopened at top edge; clean interior but for some darkening perhaps from oil affecting approx 25 pp. 8vo, 213 pp.
Seller: Lee Madden, Book Dealer, Brattleboro, VT, U.S.A.
Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband.. Leonard Smithers and Co, London, 1899.
Price: US$1400.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation. Wildeâs play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales, and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times, first in 1935, most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver, Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$1601.08 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, limited to 1000 edition copy of the play script of An Ideal Husband. As performed at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on January 3rd, 1895 with the actor's listed. The acting rights of the play are the property of Mr. Lewis Waller and Mr H. H. Morell. One thousand copies of this edition have been printed. Original pale boards with gilt illustrations. Lean to the book and bubbles in places on the boards. Clean contents.
Seller: Rare And Antique Books PBFA, Exeter, DEVON, United Kingdom
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: London 1899: Leonard Smithers and Co. First edition, one of 1000 copies only. Octavo. Lavender cloth decorated in gilt and with spine lettering gilt. Fore edges uncut. 213 pp. A tight example, very good with three very small chips along the rear gutter edge and a approximately ½" square chip to the rear area of the foot of the spine strip.
Seller: Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABAA, ILAB), Bordentown, NJ, U.S.A.
WILDE, Oscar. AN IDEAL HUSBAND. London: Leonard Smithers and Co., 1899.
Price: US$2241.51 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing. Publisher's original light purple cloth with gilt decoration after designs by Charles Shannon, titles in gilt to the spine. All edges untrimmed. A better than very good copy, the binding firm with some bumping to the tips of the slightly faded spine and corners. The contents, with the bookplate of Farquharson Tweedale to the front pastedown (with offseting to the opposite endpaper), a Henry Sotheran book label below and a few isolated foxing spots, are otherwise clean throughout. Limited to 1000 copies, published in July 1899. (Mason 385). Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.
Seller: LUCIUS BOOKS (ABA, ILAB, PBFA), York, United Kingdom
WILDE. OSCAR.. AN IDEAL HUSBAND.. Leonard Smithers and Co. London. 1899, 1899.
Price: US$2241.51 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: FIRST EDITION. Small 4to.(8.4 X 6.3 inches). xvi, 213pp. Original light purple cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and decorative designs by Charles Shannon in gilt to both boards and spine. All edges untrimmed. A small amount of light offsetting to the blank endpapers. Some mottling to the spine and a little bubbling to the cloth on the front board but overall a very good copy. One of 1000 copies, published July 1899. -- Mason 385.
Seller: Paul Foster. - ABA & PBFA Member., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$2881.94 + shipping
Description: First edition, one of 1,000 copies printed, presented in the year of publication from Lady Lewis, the wife of Wilde's solicitor, to their mutual friend the actress Elizabeth Robins. Lewis has inscribed the front free endpaper: "With love from B[eth]. L[ewis]. Aug. 6th 99, Vulpera"; Robins's ownership inscription is on the half-title: "Elizabeth Robins from Lady Lewis, Waldhaus (Tarasp), Switzerland". Waldhaus Vulpera was a popular Grand Hotel in the Swiss Alps. Elizabeth Lewis (née Eberstadt) was the second wife of Wilde's long-time friend and legal adviser, Sir George Lewis (1833-1911). A discreet and astute solicitor, he advised Wilde on various occasions, and, on his request, represented Lord Alfred Douglas in 1983 to recover an incriminating letter from a blackmailer. Richard Ellman, Wilde's biographer, mentions a series of letters sent by Wilde to her during his lecture tour of North America, in which he boasted about his various successes. The American actress and feminist Elizabeth Robins (1862-1952) is best known for her play Votes for Women!, which is credited with inaugurating suffrage drama. Wilde met her for the first time at a reception at Lady Seton's House in 1888 and subsequently used his influence to help her gain success on the London stage. He gave her feedback on her performances throughout her career. Oscar Wilde's third comedy, An Ideal Husband premiered at the Haymarket on 3 January 1895, preceding his sensational trial, but was not published until after his release from prison. In a letter to his publisher, Leonard Smithers, Wilde wrote that "I really think it reads the best of my plays" (cited in Nelson, p. 392). Mason, p. 433; James G. Nelson, Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson, 2000. Quarto. Original pink cloth, flat spine lettered in gilt, leaf motifs to spine and covers designed by Charles Shannon, edges untrimmed. Spine and head of rear cover sunned, cloth otherwise bright, spine ends and tips slightly rubbed and bumped, tiny mark to front cover, offsetting to endpapers, a few spots of foxing to half-title, otherwise generally clean. A very good, fresh copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
WILDE, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. By the Author of Lady Windermere's Fan. , 1899.
Price: US$2945.99 + shipping
Description: First edition, one of 1000 copies. Small 4to., original pale pink cloth designed by Charles Ricketts. London: Leonard Smithers and Co., FIRST EDITION, SMALL-PAPER ISSUE. Nelson, LS, 1899.16, Mason, 385. Spine fractionally faded and with a few very occasional string marks along fore-edges of boards, but overall an excellent copy.
Seller: Maggs Bros. Ltd ABA, ILAB, PBFA, BA, London, United Kingdom
Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. Leonard Smithers, 1899.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing bound in the ORIGINAL salmon cloth from the publisher. A wonderful copy. The book is in nice condition. The binding is tight, and the boards are crisp with minor wear to the spine and edges. The pages are clean with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a sharp copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION in collector's condition. We buy Oscar Wilde First Editions.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Price: US$3202.16 + shipping
Description: First edition, one of 1,000 trade copies. This political comedy premiered at the Haymarket on 3 January 1895 and ran until 6 April. Wilde's arrest the day before the production closed precipitated his "utter social destruction" (ODNB) and the play was not published in book form until two years after his release from prison. An Ideal Husband led George Bernard Shaw to hail Wilde as "our only thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theatre" (Saturday Review, 12 January 1895). Wilde himself wrote to the publisher stating that "I really think it reads the best of my plays" (cited in Nelson, p. 392). The edition comprised 1,000 trade copies, 100 signed copies on large paper, and 12 on Japanese vellum reserved for presentation. This copy is from the significant theatre collection of Clive Hirschhorn (b. 1940), who spent decades as the Sunday Express's film and theatre critic and whose various histories of Hollywood include The Warner Bros. Story (1978) and The Hollywood Musical (1981). Hirschhorn's ownership inscription is pencilled on the front pastedown. Mason 385. James G. Nelson, Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson, 2000. Small quarto. Original pink linen with gilt floral motifs after designs by Charles Shannon, spine lettered in gilt, fore and bottom edges uncut. Housed in custom red cloth folding box. Shelflabel on front pastedown. Lightly faded spine with nick and bump to ends, covers notably bright, presenting handsomely, offsetting and splash marks to prelims from prior removal of bookplate, shallow tear to top edge of title page from rough opening. A very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. Leonard Smithers and Co., 1899.
Price: US$3308.47 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: London. Chiswick Press for Leonard Smithers and Co. Fine with title and last page uncut. 1899. First Edition. Hardcover without dust jacket. 213pp. 8vo. Rare copy of Oscar Wilde s play.
Seller: Chatelaine Books, The Angle, NSW, Australia
Wilde, Oscar. [Wilde, Oscar- A Fine Copy] An Ideal Husband. Leonard Smithers, London, 1899.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Original publisher's salmon mauve cloth with superb gilt designs on both covers by Charles Shannon. An extraordinarily fine copy unopened copy with virtually no signs of wear internally, and the cloth covers are untarnished, spine slightly sunned. Scarcely seen thus.
Seller: Nudelman Rare Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Price: US$4301.01 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: FIRST EDITION. LIMITED EDITION. Being 1 of 1000 unnumbered copies. With "One thousand copies of this edition have been printed" to first blank following title page. There was no author stated on the first printing, with merely "By the Author of Lady Windermere's Fan" printed on title page, as per this copy. Dedication to Frank Harris printed in the front of the book. Printed at the Chiswick Press:- Charles Wittington & Co., Tooks Court, Chancery Lane, London. "An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. In the summer of 1893, Oscar Wilde began writing An Ideal Husband, and he completed it later that winter. He initially sent the completed play to the Garrick Theatre, where the manager rejected it, but it was soon accepted by the Haymarket Theatre. The play gave the Haymarket the success it desperately needed. After opening on 3 January 1895, it continued for 124 performances. In April of that year, Wilde was arrested for 'gross indecency' and his name was publicly removed from the play. On 6 April, the same day as Wilde's arrest, the play moved to the Criterion Theatre where it ran from 13-27 April. The play was published in July 1899 when Wilde was living in France, although Wilde was not listed as the author. This published version differs slightly from the performed play, for Wilde added many passages and cut others. Prominent additions included written stage directions and character descriptions. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, it is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play." Bound in publisher's original lavender cloth, bright gilt lettering to spine (title, publisher & date, with no mention of author), with bright gilt nouveau feather design to both front & rear boards plus spine, edges untrimmed. The binding was designed by wood engraver, lithographer, and painter Charles Shannon, who also designed the binding of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Throughout the 1890s, artist and designer Charles Ricketts and his lifelong friend and companion Charles Shannon designed, either singly or together, almost all of Wilde's books. Slight handling wear, mild surface rubbing to boards, top edge & fore-edge cloth partly rubbed/worn through to boards, light toning to endpapers, bookseller's tiny label to rear pastedown, otherwise overall a VERY GOOD nice clean tight solid hardcover copy. Internally clean & unmarked. Pagination complete. 213pp. RARE.
Seller: Bookwood, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
WILDE, OSCAR. An Ideal Husband. London Leonard Smithers 1899, 1899.
Price: US$4500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Bookplate of noted writer and book collector Carroll Atwood Wilson. Laid in this copy are two printed in-house reports sheets from the Theatre Royal Haymarket from the playÕs first run of 124 performances. Handwritten in ink are the sums tallying the box office receipts for the 93rd and 94th performances of An Ideal Husband on March 23, 1895. The matinee brought in 82 pounds and the evening performance totaled 144 pounds. Remarkably, this copy still has the pages unopened and intact. Slight chipping at top of spine, else very good.
Seller: James Pepper Rare Books, Inc., ABAA, Santa Barbara, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$4537.50 + shipping
Description: Limited edition, no. 371 of 1000 copies; small 4to; half-title, publisher's lilac cloth gilt designed by Charles Shannon, very light soiling, spine slightly faded. First performed on 14th February 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest marked the zenith of Wilde's career, and followed on from the success of Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and A Woman of No Importance. However, as his professional star rose, so did the escalation of his feud with Lord Queensberry, father of his lover Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie). Only four days after the opening of the play Lord Queensberry left his card at Wilde's club, scrawled with the words 'For Oscar Wilde posing somdomite' [sic]. Wilde, despite the advice of his friends but egged on by his lover, sued Queensberry for libel, and the rest his history. On 25th May, in the ensuing trial brought by the Crown, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.
Seller: Shapero Rare Books, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$4992.00 + shipping
Description: 215 x 155 mm. (8 3/8 x 6"). 8 p.l., 213, [1] pp. Original lavender cloth decorated with gilt flourishes, smooth spine with gilt lettering, edges untrimmed and ENTIRELY UNOPENED. Mason 385. âSpine slightly sunned (as virtually always), but no wear to joints or hinges and, in all, A REMARKABLY WELL-PRESERVED, OBVIOUSLY UNREAD COPY (because unopened), and without the soiling this edition is almost always found with. This is an exceptionally fine copy of Wilde's second hit play, successful like his other witty comedies, but with at least slightly more serious social and political content. Opening at the Haymarket Theatre in 1895 and continuing for 124 performances, it features as the title character a prominent politician in danger of losing his reputation because of a potentially damaging letter that the play's villain threatens to expose if the husband refuses to support the former's corrupt political agenda. The play moves its characters toward a more ideal moral standard as they struggle with dishonesty, hypocrisy, double standards, materialism, and corruption of social and political life. But none of this weighs down Wilde's witty banter, as the play suggests, after all, that even when there is a pretense of the embrace of moral probity, nobody is ever that good or is even expected to be. The work is dedicated to the Irish-American writer Frank Harris, who is said to have given Wilde the idea to use insider trading (which related to Disraeli's financial machinations) as part of the plot here. Covering the play for the "Saturday Review," George Bernard Shaw declared Wilde (1854-1900) "our only thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theatre." On nearly all copies of this edition, the publisher's binding is now encountered in unappetizing condition; finding our unopened copy--with virtually none of the soiling almost always seen with the four Wilde plays bound in this lavender cloth--is piece of very good fortune.
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$14375.00 + shipping
Description: 9 x 7", gilt-dec mauve silk covers, 213pp, covers worn and soiled with some water staining, extremities bumped and fraying, spine darkened, rear outer hinge unraveling, bookplate (of business mogul Evander B. Schley), first and last few pp badly stained, but still LIMITED TO 100 NUMBERED LARGE PAPER COPIES, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, OSCAR WILDE.
Seller: John K King Used & Rare Books, Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
WILDE, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. Smithers, London, 1899.
Price: US$17000.00 + shipping
Description: [16], 214 pages. Square 8vo, original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers, uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some fading, soiling & shelf-wear on the binding; old heraldic bookplate on end-paper, which has offset onto front flyleaf, still a very good(+) clean copy of this exceedingly rare book. One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 71 of only 100 large-paper copies, signed by Wilde.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
WILDE, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. Smithers, London, 1899.
Price: US$20000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: [16], 214 pages. Square 8vo, original lavender cloth with gilt decorations on covers, uncut edges. London: Leonard Smithers 1899. Limited First Edition. Some minor soiling & bubbling on the cover but still a very good(+) internally clean copy of this exceedingly rare book. One of Wilde's most frequently produced plays. Number 38 of only 100 large-paper copies, signed by Wilde. Preserved in a 1/4 leather clam-shell case.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband.. Leonard Smithers and Co, London, 1899.
Price: US$22000.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, signed limited edition. Octavo, original lavender publisher's cloth. OneÂof 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde. In very good condition with some light rubbing and darkening to the extremities.ÂHoused in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Wildeâs play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales, and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times, first in 1935, most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver, Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett. Mason 385.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband.. Leonard Smithers and Co, London, 1899.
Price: US$25000.00 + shipping
Description: First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo, original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde, this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A superior example. Wildeâs play premiered in January 1895 to an audience that included the Prince of Wales, and was an immediate success. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play. It has been adapted to film several times, first in 1935, most recently in 1999 starring Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver, Cate Blanchett and Rupert Everett.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.