Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Henry James. The Bostonians: a novel. The Macmillan and Co: NY, 1886.
Price: US$34.99 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: This is the first American edition, BUT it does have issues and is NOT collectible in this condition. Octavo, 7 2/3? tall, 449 pages, gilt spine titles on maroon quarter-cloth over orange boards. Good overall, internally clean but soiling and spotting to the cover, with general shelf wear and rubbing at all corners, fore-corner tips almost through to boards, and top and bottom of spine ends starting to fray with a tape stain at top of spine from a failed attempt at reinforcement, hinges cracked internal binding solid, paper lightly yellowed, with a shop name stamped on the title page, fore-edges slightly foxed. Without dust jacket.
Seller: Avenue Victor Hugo Books, Newmarket, NH, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry. The Bostonians. Macmillan, New York, 1886.
Price: US$50.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First American edition. Good/ this a typically used book, but the hinge is broke and the cover on the spine is completely off.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Henry James. The Bostonians. Macmillan and Co, 1886.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First US edition, preceded first UK edition by two months. One of 5,000. Adds in back with Dollars. Book in good condition; front and rear covers are loose, inscription by previous owner on front free end paper, spine cover missing, covers in pink with red next to spine, rubbing along edges. 1886 on title and copyright page.
Seller: Bookbid, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$99.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 449 Pp. + 2 Pp Ads At Rear. Cloth. First Edition, Second Issue, First One Volume Printing. The Initial Three Volume Edition Was Printed In 500 Copies In February 1886, With An Identical Second Printing Of 100 Copies, And Is Rare. This First Issue Of The One Volume Edition Was Printed In 5000 Copies In March 1886 In England, And 3000 Were Distributed In America Preceeding The British Issue, With Ads Priced In Dollars; The Majority Of These Were Bound In The Maroon And Pink Binding, As This One (The Remainder In May 1886 In A Dark Blue Or Blue-Green Binding). Pencil Ownership Signature Of R. Wick On Front Pastedown. Gilt Lettering On Spine Is Bright, Spine Ends Are Slightly Bumped And Worn But Not Yet Fraying, Edges Of Boards Show Some Wear, Foredge Of Both Boards Shows Effects Of E Abrasion Which Has Shaved 1/32 To 1/16 Inch Of The Book For A Length Of About An Inch On Each Board. Top Edge Dusty. Internally Tight And Clean, Hinges Intact And Strong.
Seller: Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry. Bostonians, The. London, England: Macmillan and co, 1886, 1886.
Price: US$112.50 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 12mo, pp. 449. HB. No DJ. Boards are dark green with design and gold gilt stripes on front and spine, and gold gilt printing on spine. Bumped corners, and 1/2" rip on top of spine. Front hinge partial ly cracked. Cocked. Green endpapers. Page before title page razored out, otherwise strong, tight and clean. Good+. Professional book dealer since 1975. All orders are processed promptly and packaged with the utmost care. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Seller: Peace of Mind Bookstore, Tulsa, OK, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Bostonians. A Novel. Macmillan and Co, London and New York, 1886.
Price: US$125.00 + shipping
Description: Second edition, American issue, binding state B. Pp. [iv], 449,[1], [2, ads]. 1 vols. 8vo. BAL 10576; Edel & Laurence A28b; Supino 28.6.0 Red cloth shelfback and pink cloth boards, coated endsheets. Head of spine split with loss, lower inner joint with some superficial adhesions. Binding sound. Good Pp. [iv], 449,[1], [2, ads]. 1 vols. 8vo Second edition, American issue, binding state B.
Seller: The Old Mill Bookshop, HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Bostonians. New York: MacMillan and Co. 1886, New York, 1886.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: No Jacket. First American Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. First one-volume edition. Gilt lettering on spine. Previous owner's bookplate inside front cover; signs of rubbing to the original two-tone red cloth binding; 2 chips (up to 3/4 x 1 inch) missing from the dark red cloth on the spine; hinges beginning to separate inside. Otherwise, overall, in good condition. Clean inside.
Seller: Arch Bridge Bookshop, Bellows Falls, VT, U.S.A.
Henry James. The Bostonians. Macmillan, 1886.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Wear to spine cloth at head else little wear, however block hinging is starting to separate so best as a display copy and not for reading 1st one volume edition
Seller: AwardWinningBooks, Spring Branch, TX, U.S.A.
Henry James. The Bostonians a Novel. Macmillan and Co, London and New York, 1886.
Price: US$235.70 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: An early one volume issue of Henry James' popular political activist novel, 'The Bostonians'. The second one volume issue, published the same year as the first edition, which was in three volumes. With a half-title. With two pages of publisher's adverts to the rear. 'The Bostonians' is a novel that centres on a trio of characters; Basil Ransom, a political conservative, Olive Chancellor, a Boston feminist, and Verena Tarrant, a protegee of Olive's in the feminist movement. This novel was first published as a serial from 1885-1886 in 'The Century Magazine'. Written by Henry James, a nineteenth century American novelist. He is considered to be a key figure in the transition between literary realism and literary modernism. He is often considered to be one of the greatest novelist in the English language. His other novels include 'The Portrait of a Lady', and 'The Wings of the Dove'. In the original publisher's cloth binding. Externally, generally smart. Light marking to the boards and spine. A little bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. Front hinge is strained but remains firm. Internally, generally firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean with only the very odd light mark. A few pencil annotations to the margins. Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
James, Henry. THE BOSTONIANS. Macmillan and Co, New York, 1886.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, [i-iv], [1]-449 pages. In Good condition. Quarter bound in maroon cloth with red cloth boards and gilt text on spine. Boards have rubbing and fraying to corners exposing boards, tearing to spine edges, black marks on both covers, and moderate edge wear and shelf wear. Binding shaken. Textblock has bookplate on front pastedown, splitting to interior hinges, foxing to many pages, front endpaper to copyright page mostly detached, and splitting to multiple gutters. Ex-Library. Shelved Room A. BAL 10576. 1372327. Special Collections.
Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
James, Henry. THE BOSTONIANS. London and New York:Macmillan and Co, 1886.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: London and New York:Macmillan and Co. 1886. 449pp.+2pp ads. 1st one-volume edition following a 3 volume edition. Original blue boards with title in gilt on spine. In near very good condition. Blue boards lighly rubbed, soiled and shelfworn, with wear to edges and spine ends. Edge points gently bumped. The binding is cocked but tight, however the rear hinge has started. There are no previous ownership marks or signatures but there are some penciled bookseller notes, now erased, but still discernable, on the half title page. Overall, a near very good copy.
Seller: Parnassus Book Service, Inc, YarmouthPort, MA, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry.. Bostonians.. Macmillan and Company, New York, 1886.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: 449 pp. 8vo. Publisher's salmon boards with quarter maroon cloth spine. First American edition; really the American issue of the second English edition. E+L A28b. A nice copy; a few closed tears to the top of the spine.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Bostonians. Macmillan and Co, London and New York, 1886.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First American Edition, one of 3000 copies for American from the total edition of 5000 copies for the English First volume edition, thick Octavo, _ maroon cloth over salmon boards with gilt lettering. Classic novel following a man from Boston and a man from Mississippi vying for a young feminist's love. Very good, small chip at top of spine, small stain on lower front corner of front cover; hinge starting to come apart but still holding. Edel and Lawerence A28b.
Seller: Yesterday's Gallery, ABAA, East Woodstock, CT, U.S.A.
Henry James. The Bostonians. Macmillan, London and New York, 1886.
Price: US$375.84 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: The first issue of the first single volume edition of Henry James's critically divisive tragicomedy. The first issue of the first single volume edition of this work, preceded only by the three volume first edition. This is the first issue of the single volume edition, published in May 1886 and identified by two pages of advertisements to the rear with prices provided in dollars. A UK single volume issue was published two months later.'The Bostonians' is a novel that centres on a trio of characters; Basil Ransom, a political conservative from Mississipi, Olive Chancellor, a Boston feminist, and Verena Tarrant, a protegee of Olive's in the feminist movement.The work was poorly received by North American critics, with Mark Twain damning the work and the people of Boston denouncing it.With two pages of advertisements to the rear.A wonderful copy of this work from the major literary figure Henry James, author of such works as 'The Turn of the Screw' and 'The Ambassadors'. James is viewed as one of the greatest novelists in the English language, placed critically at the intersection of realism and modernism. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Bumping to spine head and tail, with a touch of fading to back strip. Otherwise, externally excellent. Hinges strained but firmly held. Internally, firmly bound. Pages clean and bright. Very Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
James, Henry. The Bostonians. MacMillan & Company , Ltd., London & New York, 1886.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Presumed First Printing of the single volume Edition. 1886 on the title page. No adverts. Dark Blue (with a greenish tinge) cloth. Printed by R & R Clarke. Some foxing, especially to the page edges. Formerly a volume in the Crew's Library of the U. S. S. Topeka with a Library Bookplate and two Library blind stamps. A solid example. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall
Seller: Gerry Kleier Rare Books, Martinez, CA, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Bostonians. Macmillan and Co, London and New York, 1886.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First single-volume edition, in publisher's blue-green cloth binding with no ads at rear. Very Good. Lean to binding, cloth lightly rubbed mottled, rubbed through at corners and frayed at spine ends, previous owner name and date in ink to title page.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Princess Casamassima: A Novel.. Macmillan and Co, New York, 1886.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: First American edition of one of James's "three formidable novels" published in the 1880s along with The Bostonians and The Tragic Muse. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. In near fine condition, name opposite the half-title page. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell case. "The Princess Casamassima, a panoramic novel with a vivid English setting, documents a sensitive bookbinder's attempt to come to terms with his illegitimate birth and social disadvantages through involvement in subversive political action. Even more naturalistic than its predecessor [The Bostonians], The Princess reads today like an elegy for the beauty and traditions painfully evolved by civilized society and now endangered by what Yeats called 'mere anarchy'" (Gargano, 122).
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry.. The Princess Casamassima.. London: Macmillan and Co., 1886, 1886.
Price: US$1592.55 + shipping
Description: First edition in book form, handsomely bound, and one of 750 copies. The Princess Casamassima is one of James's "three formidable novels" composed during the 1880s, standing alongside The Bostonians (1886) and The Tragic Muse (1890) as demonstrating "a creative vigor and willingness to experiment that became distinctive watermarks of his career" (Gargano, p. 120). "The Princess Casamassima, a panoramic novel with a vivid English setting, documents a sensitive bookbinder's attempt to come to terms with his illegitimate birth and social disadvantages through involvement in subversive political action. Even more naturalistic than its predecessor [The Bostonians], The Princess reads today like an elegy for the beauty and traditions painfully evolved by civilized society and now endangered by what Yeats called 'mere anarchy'" (ibid., p. 122). It was initially serialized in the Atlantic Monthly from September 1885 to October 1886. Edel & Laurence A29a; Supino 29. James W. Gargano, "The Middle Years", A Companion to Henry James Studies, 1993. 3 volumes, octavo (183 x 119 mm). Mid-20th-century blue half morocco by Bayntun, spines lettered in gilt, gilt petals on raised bands, compartments framed in gilt, blue cloth sides, single gilt fillet trimming sides and corners, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt. Skilfully obscured library blind stamp to initial leaves of each volume. Spines uniformly and lightly sunned, rubbing to cloth, offsetting to outer leaves else clean, complete with half-titles and rear adverts. A very good copy indeed.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
James, Henry. The Bostonians. A Novel. In three volumes. Macmillan, London, 1886.
Price: US$3185.11 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 192 x 125mm, turquoise grey sand-grained cloth, spines lettered & ornamented in gilt, ruled in blind at head & tail, covers stamped in blind with double outer rule & single inner rule with rounded corners, dark brown coated endpapers, fore- & tail edges rough-trimmed. Pp.[iv] 244; [iv] 226 + 2pp advertisements; [iv] 232 + 4pp advertisements. Bookplates (of historical interest) on front pastedowns, small circular labels with shelf code on front free endpapers. Cloth of spines partially split; that of vol.1 along both edges. Corners rubbed. One leaf of first volume has thumb-sized loss, affecting text. Inscription on half-title of vol.1, ownership name on half-titles of remaining volumes. Unobtrusive discoloration on lower covers of first two volumes, slight wrinkling of cloth on lower cover of vol.3. Contemporary pencilled note on verso of front free endpaper of first two volumes states: "Issued with cover damaged." The first printing comprised 500 copies; the second (indistinguishable from the first) a further 100 copies. Scarce in any condition.
Seller: Cameron House Books, Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
JAMES, Henry. Princess Casamassima A Novel.. Macmillan and Co, London, 1886.
Price: US$6500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, one of 750 sets published in October of 1886. Three octavo volumes. Advertisement leaf at the end of volumes two and three. Publisher's dark green cloth, ruled in black on boards, gilt lettering on the spine. Green coated endpapers renewed. Spine extremities slightly bumped, light rubbing to tips and joints. Uncut. A very good copy. In custom cloth clamshell. "In the middle phase of his career, James wrote two novels dealing with social reformers and revolutionaries, The Bostonians (1886) and Princess Casamassima." (Webster's Dictionary of American Authors, 207) These novels were different in that they strayed from the usual themes found in James' works and focused more on the poor and working-class characters and radical politics. BAL 10577. Edel and Laurence A29a. HBS 64325. $6,500.
Seller: Heritage Book Shop, ABAA, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Princess Casamassima: A Novel.. Macmillan and Co., London, 1886.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition in book form of one of James's "three formidable novels" published in the 1880s along with The Bostonians and The Tragic Muse. Octavo, three volumes, original publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine, half-titles, 2 pages of advertisements at rear of vols. II and III. From the library of Barton Currie with his bookplate to the pastedown and later Maurice Sendak, although not marked. American journalist, author, and book collector Barton Currie contributed hundreds of articles and stories for publications such as New York Evening World, New York Evening Sun, Harper's Weekly and Good Housekeeping in the early part of the 20th century. Currie wrote from personal experience of the effect of bibliomania on the collector in his memoir Fishers of Books (1931), "The first symptom of bibliomania manifests itself by producing a form of somnambulism. You come out of a bookshop carrying a first edition of something or other. You cannot explain how or why you got it, or what you paid for it. But you have it; and when you arrive home with it you creep off to some secluded room and examine it. Then occurs the first little burning exaltation. Just a little glow to begin with, then by infinite gradations a consuming fire." Best known for his immensely popular illustrated childrenâs book, Where the Wild Things Are, Sendakâs career was launched in 1952 with the publication of Ruth Kraussâs A Hole Is to Dig. Their author-illustrator collaboration, facilitated by Harper & Row publisher and editor-in-chief of juvenile books Ursula Nordstrom, became something of a cultural phenomenon, spawning a host of imitators of their âunrulyâ and ârebelliousâ child protagonists. Now one of the scarcest and most desirable books in modern childrenâs literature, Sendakâs Where the Wild Things Are faced many opponents and was banned in several libraries upon publication in 1963. Its challengers accused the work as being âtoo darkâ and âtraumatizingâ to young children due to its often frightening imagery." It would become one of many âgood books for bad childrenâ edited and published by Nordstrom who disliked the genteel, sentimental tone of earlier American childrenâs literature and sought to change its purpose to appeal to childrenâs imaginations and emotions, rather than serve as adult-approved morality tales. Housed in a custom clamshell box by Zaehnsdorf. An exceptional example with noted provenance. "The Princess Casamassima, a panoramic novel with a vivid English setting, documents a sensitive bookbinder's attempt to come to terms with his illegitimate birth and social disadvantages through involvement in subversive political action. Even more naturalistic than its predecessor [The Bostonians], The Princess reads today like an elegy for the beauty and traditions painfully evolved by civilized society and now endangered by what Yeats called 'mere anarchy'" (Gargano, 122).
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry. THE BOSTONIANS. Macmillan, 1886.
Price: US$22295.74 + shipping
Description: First edition. Three volumes. Publisher's original dark blue cloth lettered in gilt to the spine with black ruled borders to the upper cover. Terminal adverts to vols II and III. A near fine set with hinges in volume I and the front hinge of vol II showing superficial splits. Slight toning to the spine, internally fresh. An exceptional well preserved set. One of only 500 copies of the first edition of one of James's best known novels and the author's own favourite. F. R. Leavis claimed the book was "one of the two most brilliant novels in the language," the other being James's The Portrait of a Lady. Edel & Lawrence A28a.
Seller: Jonkers Rare Books, Henley on Thames, OXON, United Kingdom
JAMES, Henry.. The Bostonians.. London Macmillan and Co, 1886.
Price: US$22687.50 + shipping
Description: First edition; 3 vols, 8vo; advertisements at end of vols. II & III, the odd marginal spot, not affecting text, otherwise near-fine; publisher's dark green cloth, double-panelled in black, gilt lettering, contemporary ownership inscriptions to the front free endpapers of the first and last volumes, dated 1887, slight bumping to exrtremities, spines very gently rolled but a truly exceptional set of great scarcity thus. A superb set of one of James' most famous but controversial novels. The Bostonians was from its initial publication in serial form, a divisive work, with many reviewers of the time feeling it was uncharitable in its depiction of the liberal and intellectual ambitions of the Bostonians it seemed to send up. Other reviewers felt the work was overly political in its treatment of its subject matter, including the emerging social reform movements of the time, notably feminism, which James himself was, it seems, somewhat ambivalent about. That Olive's apparent attraction to Verena could potentially indicate a lesbian aspect has been the subject of more recent speculation and adds another dimension both to the work and the motives and behaviour of the main characters (The Bostonians refers primarily to these two characters Olive and Verena, 'as they appeared to the mind of Ransom, the southerner and outsider, looking at them from New York' [James, Henry James: Letters. Volume III: 18831895, 1980]). Edel & Laurence states that the first printing comprised 500 copies, published 16 February 1886, with a second, undifferentiated impression of 100 copies issued the following month. Edel & Laurence A28a
Seller: Shapero Rare Books, London, United Kingdom