Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$38.24 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Full maroon leather binding. Raised bands and decorated spine. Some rubbing on the hinges which are starting to split.
Seller: Ryde Bookshop Ltd, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Price: US$50.99 + shipping
Description: Original cloth, covers faded & spotted, respined with most of original spine relaid. Many engraved plates, considerably foxed 439 Pages.
Seller: Gage Postal Books, Westcliff-on-Sea, United Kingdom
AINSWORTH, WILLIAM HARRISON.. THE TOWER OF LONDON.. Richard Bentley, London, 1840.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: 3/4 green morocco faded to tan over green cloth. signed binding by Bayntun of Bath. Joints rubbed. Six-panel spine bordered in gilt. Marbled end papers. Forty etchings and 58 woodcuts by George Cruikshank. Frontispiece repaired by old tape (about 2"). Plate at p.151 is loosened. Plates on pp. 16, 28, 45 are in the second state. (See Sadlier 31). 439pp. Size: Octavo
Seller: Glenn Books, ABAA, ILAB, Prairie Village, KS, U.S.A.
William Harrison Ainsworth. The Tower of London a Historical Romance. Richard Bentley, 1840.
Price: US$105.48 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 1840. Richard Bentley . hardcover. ACCEPTABLE half leather binding. gilt titles on spine. edgewear. foxing. spine worn. spine cracked. 9x6
Seller: Cambridge Rare Books, Cambridge, GLOUC, United Kingdom
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Bound by Wallis & Lloyd. Gilt-ruled calf, gilt-stamped ornament direct in spine compartments (5 raised bands), gilt-stamped lettering in red leather spine label, a.e.g.; 8vo; pp. xvi, 439, with 53 wood engravings in text, plus 40 plates. Spine dry, bottom spine compartment split and pulling away. Otherwise a lovely copy. Sadleir, 31; Wolff, 76a.
Seller: Sanctuary Books, A.B.A.A., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$191.21 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: The first 8vo edition of this famous narrative with plates by George Cruikshank. Very good condition in a half leather binding by Bayntuns of Bath, A.E.G. Internally very good with some light foxing & staining to corners of the plates (see illustrative photos). Please note that this is a heavy book that will require additional postage if sent outside the UK. Kindly contact me for a revised shipping quotation, before ordering, should this apply.
Seller: Chris Phillips, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Price: US$202.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Size. xvi, 439 pages with 40 engraved plates and 58 black and white textual illustrations by George Cruikshank. Original half leather over marbled boards with gilt lettering on spine. Marbled edges and end papers. Very good condition. Binding rubbed and bumped. Some corners a little stronger rubbed. Firm binding. Edges dust dulled. Portrait of William Harrison Ainsworth added to this edition (not called for). The portrait of Ainsworth is attached to front pastedown. Small part (10 x 30 mm) missing from top right corner of title page. Internally a little dust dulled, but overall in very good condition. A few plates with minor tears. One plate has been repaired. A very nice copy. George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience. Cruikshank's early career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications. He achieved early success collaborating with William Hone in his political satire The Political House That Jack Built (1819). In the same year he produced the remarkable anti-abolitionist New Union Club. It satirised a dinner party organised by abolitionists with black guests. His first major work was Pierce Egan's Life in London (1821). This was followed by The Comic Almanack (18351853) and Omnibus (1842). He gained notoriety with his political prints that attacked the royal family and leading politicians. In 1820 he received a royal bribe of £100 for a pledge "not to caricature His Majesty" (George IV of the United Kingdom) "in any immoral situation". His work included a personification of England named John Bull who was developed from about 1790 in conjunction with other British satirical artists such as James Gillray, and Thomas Rowlandson. Cruikshank replaced one of his major influences, James Gillray, as England's most popular satirist. For a generation he delineated Tories, Whigs and Radicals impartially. Satirical material came to him from every public event wars abroad, the enemies of Britain (he was highly patriotic), the frolic, among other qualities, such as the weird and terrible, in which he excelled. His hostility to enemies of Britain and a crude racism is evident in his illustrations commissioned to accompany William Maxwell's History of the Irish rebellion in 1798 (1845) where his lurid depictions of incidents in the rebellion were characterised by the simian-like portrayal of Irish rebels. Among the other racially engaged works of Cruikshank there were caricatures about the "legal barbarities" of the Chinese, the subject given by his friend, Dr. W. Gourley, a participant in the ideological battle around the Arrow War, 185660. For Charles Dickens, Cruikshank illustrated Sketches by Boz (1836), The Mudfog Papers (183738) and Oliver Twist (1838). Cruikshank even acted in Dickens' amateur theatrical company. On 30 December 1871 Cruikshank published a letter in The Times which claimed credit for much of the plot of Oliver Twist. The letter launched a fierce controversy around who created the work. Cruikshank was not the first Dickens illustrator to make such a claim. Robert Seymour who illustrated the Pickwick Papers suggested that the idea for that novel was originally his; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any specific input. The friendship between Cruikshank and Dickens soured further when Cruikshank became a fanatical teetotaler in opposition to Dickens' views of moderation. In Somerset Maugham's short story "Miss King", Cruickshank's influence is referenced: "She wore a large white cotton nightcap (on entering Ashenden has noticed the brown wig on a stand on the dressing-table) tied under the chin and a white voluminous nightdress that came high up in the neck. Nightcap and nightdress belonged to a past age and reminded you of Cruickshanks illustrations to the novels of Charles Dickens." (Wikipedia) Sprache: english.
Seller: West Coast Rare Books, Westport, MAYO, Ireland
Price: US$210.33 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: The first edition of this historical romance novel following the tragic life of Lady Jane Grey, complete with the original plates by Cruikshank. The first edition.Illustrated with a frontispiece, engraved title, thirty-nine plates, and in-text wood engravings.Collated, complete.A brilliant historical romance novel by William Harrison Ainsworth, telling of the tragic life of Lady Jane Grey, and her short lived time as Queen of England.The novel begins with Jane entering the Tower of London in 1553, following her time in the Tower before her execution. Ainsworth also looks back at other historical events and events more contemporary to when he was writing, from anecdotes on William the Conqueror, to the Cato Street Conspiracy.Illustrated by George Cruikshank.Bookplate of James Lees-Milne to the front paste down. Lees-Milne was a notable author and an expert on country houses, working for the National Trust for forty years. He is best remembered today for his diaries, which are still in print. In the original publisher's cloth binding, rebacked with the original boards and spine restored. Externally, generally smart. Spine and extremities are a little faded. Minor bumping to the extremities. Light marks to the boards and spine. Cloth to the tail of the rear board is lifting a small amount. Bookplate to the front paste down. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are age-toned and generally clean with some spotting. Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
Price: US$224.91 + shipping
Description: First edition. Tall 8vo., rebound in cont. half leather, raised bands, xvi, 439pp. Bookplate, some foxing to the edges of the plates o/w a nice copy. Sadleir 31.
Seller: David Mason Books (ABAC), Toronto, ON, Canada
Price: US$330.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo. 3/4 dark green morocco by Riviere; spine in six compartments, blank compartments decorated with gilt florets; marbled endpapers, matching the marbled boards; xvi;[1]-439; engraved frontis + [39] inserted leaves of engraved illustrations by Cruikshank, not reckoned in pagination; 58 additional woodcut illustrations in-text. Plates in the second state per Cohn. Mild rubbing to board edges and corners; a touch of fading to leather on spine; still a tight, pleasing copy, easily Near Fine, internally very fresh, completely free of foxing or soil. Armorial bookplate of Edward Penton inside front cover; later ownership inscription ("S.G. Owen") on verso of front endpaper, along with an early bookseller's price in pounds. COHN [Cruikshank] 14; SADLEIR 31.
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books, ABAA, Winchester, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: 8vo. Forty etchings in steel and 58 woodcuts by George Cruikshank. xvi, 439, [1] pp. Full green crushed morocco gilt, a.e.g., by Riviere & Son; a few small scuffs to spine and rear cover, a few plates foxed First edition in book form, following the monthly serialization, of Ainsworth's historical romance about the imprisonment, trial and execution of Lady Jane Grey. With the plates at pp. 16, 28 and 45 in second state.REFERENCE: Cohn 14
Seller: Bull's Head Rare Books, ABAA, ILAB, Lebanon, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$428.31 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Please email for Photographs or further information. Very Good - Bumps and scuffing to boards and spine. Some spotting to pages although generally in good condition. All plates/engravings present. Please see photos as part of condition report 1840 1st Edition , THE TOWER OF LONDON By William Harrison Ainsworth William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 1805 – 3 January 1882) was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket. Ebers introduced Ainsworth to literary and dramatic circles, and to his daughter, who became Ainsworth's wife. Illustrated By: George Cruikshank Format: Hardcover, Language: English Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket Published By: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street Bookseller in Ordinary to her Majesty, London octavo (8vo 6 × 9 152 × 229),Pages ISBN: THE TOWER OF LONDON A Historical Romance: The Tower of London is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1840. It is a historical romance that describes the history of Lady Jane Grey from her short-lived time as Queen of England to her execution. The novel is illustrated with 40 engravings and 58 woodcuts by Cruikshank. The illustrations depict moments from the story while the woodcuts show off architectural features related to the Tower. Ainsworth was grateful for the illustrations to the novel, and he wrote in the preface that "it was no slight satisfaction to him, that circumstances at length enabled him to carry into effect his favourite project, in conjunction with the inimitable artist whose designs accompany the work." SKU: BTETM0002121 Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Seller: Books That Expand The Mind, Margate, KENT, United Kingdom
Price: US$439.13 + shipping
Description: XVI-439pp. Con 40 láminas y numerosos grabados en el texto.
Seller: Llibreria Antiquària Els Gnoms, Sedó, Spain
Price: US$573.64 + shipping
Description: (London: Richard Bentley 1840). First UK Edition, First Issue, the 3 plates mentioned by Cohn at pp. 16, 28 and 45 in their first state. 439 pages. Handsomely rebound in full red morocco with 5 raised bands to the spine with with title and author in gilt to the spine in panel 2. Marbled end-papers. There are two former owner's bookplates: Ex Libris Robert Hall 1902 to the front paste-down and Sir Alfred Seale Haslam (1844-1927) to the front free end-paper. All edges gilt, marbled end papers. With 40 etchings on steel and 58 wood engravings by George Cruikshank. Interestingly, this copy has a double set of plates (one coloured and the other un-coloured) and also includes an autograph signed letter by Cruikshank (partner of Ainsworth and Cruikshank). The pages are lightly toned and the plates are cleaner than most copies of this early title (foxing is often a major problem with this printing and this copy has largely escaped that fate). Near fine. Cohn 14. Sadleir 31. A handsome production. Ainsworth's The Tower of London is the first successful English exploitation of London topography along the lines of Eugène Sue's Mysteries of Paris and, pre-eminently, Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris. [Sutherland, p. 633]. "The technical excellence of the best of these plates in their fidelity to historical detail suggests that during these years [working with Ainsworth, 1836-41] Cruikshank had adopted an altogether more ambitious view if the illustrators's role. He shared Ainsworth's concern for minute accuracy in the rendering of architectural setting, period costume, and so forth; and as their correspondence shows, the two conferred at length about such matters and together conducted a good deal of on-the-spot research. In preparing the designs Cruikshank clearly found some measure of compensation for the career as an historical painter from which his lack of academic training debarred him". [E. D. H.Johnson, p. 18-19] Photographs/scans available upon request.
Seller: James M Pickard, ABA, ILAB, PBFA., LEICESTER, United Kingdom
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First Edition, First Issue, the 3 plates mentioned by Cohn at pp. 16, 28 and 45 in their first state. Handsome early 20th-century binding by Morrell in half brown crushed morocco over beige buckram, five raised bands with gilt rules, lettering, decorations and tail date, all edges gilt, marbled end papers. With 40 etchings on steel and 58 wood engravings by George Cruikshank. Near Fine, 1 1/2" horizontal tear to tissue guard at frontispiece plate, light rubs at tips, light toning throughout. The bookplate of Richard Kanye front paste down. Cohn 14. Sadleir 31 Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Seller: Dale Steffey Books, ABAA, ILAB, Bloomington, IN, U.S.A.
AINSWORTH, WILLIAM H.. The Tower of London. Richard Bentley, London, 1840.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Bound in original cloth. The book has been re-backed. With a signed letter from the author to Joseph Brotherton (1783-1857 - Parliementary Reformer) sending his autograph and adding - "that of my friend George Cruikshank, thinking it may have some interest in your daughter's eyes." Kensal Manor House, Harrow Road, 20th April, 1852. Scattered foxing throughout. Housed in a modern slip-case. Tells the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey. Very Good.
Seller: First Place Books - ABAA, ILAB, Walkersville, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Description: 439p. FINE BINDING BY WOOD OF LONDON. A hardcover book attractively bound in full golden-brown calf with gilt decorations on the spine, which has five raised bands. Features gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, and a gilt top foredge. The exterior is in excellent shape, with only the barest signs of shelf wear (the top front corner is slightly bumped). The leather is smooth and clean. Previous owner's neat bookplate inside the front cover. A tiny closed tear on page 219 has been delicately repaired. Foxing on the plates and surrounding pages, plus some mild age-related blemishes and smudges here and there. Otherwise, text unmarked and binding quite secure. The first edition, first issue, illustrated with 40 etchings and 58 woodcuts by George Cruikshank. Cohn 14.
Seller: Kubik Fine Books Ltd., ABAA, Dayton, OH, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Laid in are brief notes in George Cruikshank's hand on the Tower of London sketches. Tipped in is a clipped signature of George Cruikshank. The volume is blue half leather, 5 raised bands, gilt titles, all edges gilt. Tissue protecting frontis. The volume is lightly edge rubbed with bumped corners and some abraiding to the bottom edge of the front panel. The pages are lightly toned and the plates are cleaner than most copies of this early title (foxing can be a major problem with this printing).
Seller: Trilby & Co. Books, San Jose, CA, U.S.A.