Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
JAMES, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan's Colonial Library. Macmillan, London, 1890.
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Description: Colonial Issue. small octavo, dark green smooth cloth. Macmillan, Edel and Laurence F53. With a letterpress book label, signature, place and date on front endpaper of Mary C. F. Stuart, East London, July 25th '99." 4 pp. of ads at end. Hinge weak at title page. Light foxing to endpapers, very minor, short tears to top and bottom of spine, a fine, clean copy. small octavo, dark green smooth cloth
Seller: Colophon Book Shop, ABAA, Exeter, NH, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan and Co, London, United Kingdom, 1890.
Price: US$66.44 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Good condition for age of book. Previous owners name written on first page of book. No other markings.
Seller: Q's Books Hamilton, Hamilton, NSW, Australia
JAMES, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan, London, 1890.
Price: US$199.33 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: London, Macmillan, 1890 [Colonial Library edition]. Octavo, [iv], 488, 4 (publisher's advertisements) pages. Original green cloth a little flecked and marked (mainly on the rear cover, where there is also some loss of colour to the bottom corner due to moisture); short closed tear (very slightly chipped) to the head of the spine, with a tiny nick to the foot; endpapers offset; tiny top corner crease to four consecutive leaves; a very good copy with the contemporary label of Hyde's Bible Hall and Book Depot, 79 Rundle Street, Adelaide on the rear pastedown. Macmillan's Colonial Library Number 109. Edel and Laurence F53 (but see also A34c, with which it conforms, minus the 64-page January 1891 catalogue). This second British edition was preceded only by the Boston two-volume edition limited to 1000 sets, and the London three-decker limited to 500 sets, both issued in the same year.
Seller: Michael Treloar Booksellers ANZAAB/ILAB, Adelaide, SA, Australia
JAMES, Henry.. THE TRAGIC MUSE.. Macmillan & Co., London. 1890. First edition., 1890.
Price: US$199.33 + shipping
Description: 8vo, 488pp + 4pp publisher's catalogue at rear. A good ex-library hardback copy bound in original green cloth. Spine is gilt titled with library paper label to centre & handwritten library reference number. A red library stamp on title page & very occasionally to contents. Cloth is marked & damp stained, with shallow fraying to spine ends & 1cm split to cloth on rear tail joint. Boards are canted. New endpapers. A good reading copy. Macmillan's Colonial Library - edition intended for circulation only in India and the British Colonies.
Seller: Sainsbury's Books Pty. Ltd., Camberwell, VIC, Australia
James, Henry:. The Tragic Muse. Colonial Edition.. London: Macmillan, 1890.
Price: US$203.52 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Series: Colonial Library 488p pale purple cloth, coarse cloth, spine and front somewhat dull, hinges holding, no name or stamp, 4p publisher's catalogue at back, clean copy, first edition Language: English
Seller: Plurabelle Books Ltd, Cambridge, United Kingdom
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan and Co., London, 1890.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Three Volumes. First edition, one of 500 sets published. Three octavo volumes. Publisher's dark blue cloth, gilt lettering on the spine and front covers. All volumes have a small, attractive Vintage Bookplate to the front paste down and a darkened spot on the front free end paper where a second Bookplate once resided, but has since fallen off. Mild lightening to the front covers of a portion of all three volumes, as though a label has been removed in the distant past. Hinges mildly cracking in Volume one. Mild spine fade to two volumes. Overall, a pretty solid example. Scarce as a 'Three Decker'! Probably better than average for this scarce Set.
Seller: Gerry Kleier Rare Books, Martinez, CA, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan, London, 1890.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Description: Three volumes, original blue cloth, lightly rubbed, covers spotted, and traces of removed labels removed on front covers, two endpapers cracking slightly, but all hinges sound. A very good copy of the scarce triple-decker, one of 500 copies printed, issued shortly after the two-volume U.S. edition. James's last triple-decker, and his last book published by Macmillan. From the Paul Lemperley collection. Supino 34.8.0; Edel A34b; BAL 10764.
Seller: Thomas A. Goldwasser Rare Books (ABAA), CHESTER, CT, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. London: Macmillan and Co., 1894, 1895, 1890.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First English edition. One of 500 copies. Three volumes, original publisher's blue cloth. Louis Auchincloss's copy bearing his bookplate to each volume. An additional former owner bookplate to the front pastedowns of each volume, some wear with fraying to spine ends and corners, short tears along spine, hinges cracked and secure. A good, completely unrestored set, housed in a custom cloth box with folding chemise. Edel & Laurence A34b. Auchincloss's writing embodied the old New York traditions of Henry James and Edith Wharton. Auchincloss wrote in his 1977 novel, The Dark Lady: ".Do you know Henry James's The Tragic Muse? It's the best novel written about an actress. A rising young diplomat asks the heroine to give up her career to become his wife and a future ambassadress.Ah how James saw it, the idiocy of any man's thinking that a real actress could even consider balancing love against the stage!" Originally published serially in seventeen installments in the Atlantic Monthly from January 1889-May 1890, The Tragic Muse was Henry James' longest novel to date. The plot tells of two aspiring artists, painter Nick Dormer and actress Miriam Rooth, who endeavor to find both artistic and commercial success. The large cast of characters that encounter Nick and Miriam throughout the text comprise a panoramic view of nineteenth century English society. James originally offered The Tragic Muse to Macmillan, but was dissatisfied with their offers. Accordingly, the first edition of this text was published on June 7, 1890, by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., and was followed by this first English edition on June 28th of the same year. Notorious for heavily editing his serialized stories before book publication, James naturally made many revisions to The Tragic Muse, and his dual publication lead to slightly different revisions in the American and English editions. Notably, the use of punctuation, specifically commas, varies significantly in the Atlantic Monthly, Houghton, and Macmillan editions, with the heaviest use in the Atlantic Monthly and lightest in Macmillan. As James was known for using commas sparingly, this first English edition most closely mirrors the author's natural writing style.
Seller: B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
JAMES, Henry.. The Tragic Muse.. Macmillan, London., 1890.
Price: US$1590.03 + shipping
Description: First U.K. edition. Octavo. Three volumes. pp [iv], 248; [iv], 252; [iv], 258. Only 500 copies were printed. Original blue cloth.Covers marked and rubbed at heads and tails with a small tear at tail of Vol. II. Inner hinge of Vol. I cracked. Very good set.
Seller: Peter Ellis, Bookseller, ABA, ILAB, London, United Kingdom
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. MacMillan & Co., London, 1890.
Price: US$1950.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First printing of the English edition, one of only 500 published. Complete three-volume set in a deluxe burgundy full-leather binding. Spine has five raised bands, gilt spine titles, and "1890" stamped at the base. Original marbled endpapers, aeg. A superb set with no owner's names, stamps or other markings to the contents. Hinges firm, joints undamaged, gilt edges and spine titles are very fresh and only very slightly worn, leather not worn through at extremities. Only noticeable flaws are some fading to the leather along the edges and minor wear to the tips. It's doubtful that a more attractive set is on the market. Photos can be provided.
Seller: Inno Dubelaar Books, Toronto, ON, Canada
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. Macmillan and Co, London, 1890.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Complete in three volumes. Stamped "FILE" on the front board of each volume. Near Fine. Blue cloth, lightly rubbed and bumped at the edges and corners, with gilt lettering on the spines and front boards. Firmly bound with forward leans, black endpapers, clean internally. A remarkably fresh first edition set, one of 600 copies and this one from the personal library of Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Maurice Sendak.
Seller: Carpetbagger Books, Woodstock, IL, U.S.A.
James, Henry. The Tragic Muse. London: Macmillan and Co., 1890.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First English edition. Three volumes. One of 500 copies. Publisher's dark blue cloth, lettered in gilt, black coated endpapers. About near fine, with some light wear to the extremities, bright gilt, former owner's inscription to the front pastedowns, scattered spotting, otherwise bright and fresh pages, upper covers have evidence of bookplate removal, spines slightly starting at front hinge of Volume I, otherwise sturdy and intact spines. Overall, bright and attractive, in unsophisticated original cloth. Edel & Laurence A34b. Originally published serially in seventeen installments in the Atlantic Monthly from January 1889-May 1890, The Tragic Muse was Henry James' longest novel to date. The plot tells of two aspiring artists, painter Nick Dormer and actress Miriam Rooth, who endeavor to find both artistic and commercial success. The large cast of characters that encounter Nick and Miriam throughout the text comprise a panoramic view of nineteenth century English society. James originally offered The Tragic Muse to Macmillan, but was dissatisfied with their offers. Accordingly, the first edition of this text was published on June 7, 1890, by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., and was followed by this first English edition on June 28th of the same year. Notorious for heavily editing his serialized stories before book publication, James naturally made many revisions to The Tragic Muse, and his dual publication lead to slightly different revisions in the American and English editions. Notably, the use of punctuation, specifically commas, varies significantly in the Atlantic Monthly, Houghton, and Macmillan editions, with the heaviest use in the Atlantic Monthly and lightest in Macmillan. As James was known for using commas sparingly, this first English edition most closely mirrors the author's natural writing style.
Seller: B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.