Currer Bell [Charlotte Bronte]. Villette (volume II). Smith, Elder, London, 1853.

Price: US$175.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Volume 2 of the three volume set. Lacks the half-title. Original boards, new spines and endpapers.

Seller: Tinakori Books, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Charlotte Bronte (Currer Bell). Villette. Smith Elder, 1853.

Price: US$2200.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: "Villette" by Charlotte Bronte (Currer Bell). Smith Elder, London. 1853 first UK edition, complete in 3 vol, lacking half-titles and advertisements, occasional light marginal soiling of spotting, bookplate of Edwin Williams to front pastedowns, contemporary half calf, neatly and sympathetically rebacked, spines with red and black morocco labels, light wear to edges, [Sadleir 342; Smith 6 pp.138-142; Wolff 828], 8vo. Nice set.

Seller: Neverland Books, waalre, Netherlands

Bronte, Charlotte [Writing as Currer Bell]. Villette. Smith Elder & Co, London, 1853.

Price: US$3500.00 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: First edition, first printing. Bound in contemporary blind stamped half calf with gilt stamped compartments and five raised bands; red and brown morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. All edges marbled. Complete in three volumes with 12-pages of adverts at rear dated January, 1853. Near Fine with rubbing to edges and boards, dust soiling. Armorial bookplates of Robert Smith on front pastedowns. Bookseller's ticket on front pastedown of volume I. Light toning to contents with sporadic foxing. A beautiful set of this classic Victorian triple decker.

Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.

Bell, Currer (Charlotte Bronte). Villette. Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1853.

Price: US$4850.00 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: Three volumes. Full blue polished calf, raised bands, tan morocco title lables with gilt titles and publication date in gilt, decorative gilt spines, gilt ruled boards, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. Binding SIGNED by Zaehnsdorf, London. True First Edition / First Printing with 12 pages of publisher's ads dated January 1853 in volume one. (5.25" x 8"), pp. 324, plus 12 pages of ads, 319, 350. Considered by many to be her finest novel, surpassing "Jane Eyre." An exceptionally clean, tight set in a fine binding. Size: Octavo

Seller: Books & Bidders Antiquarian Booksellers, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.

Bell, Currer; [Bronte, Charlotte]. Villette. Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1853.

Price: US$4874.49 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Three volumes complete - Volume One - [4], 324pp, [12]p adverts; Volume Two - [4], 319pp, [1] and Volume Three - [4], 350pp, [2]. Later half morocco and cloth by Riviere for Sotheran, raised bands, spines in six panels, title lettered directly to second panel, author and volume number to third, date to foot, remaining panels gilt with central tudor rose, from which emanates four trefoils with pointille background, dotted roll to bands and head and foot, with single line to covers, t.e.g. Very slightly rubbed to extremities, spines very slightly faded, but otherwise externally quite bright. Some light browning and occasional spotting to text, Z1 with transposing of a couple of letters, but no loss of sense. No half-titles called for, and with the publisher's catalogue to rear of first volume dated January 1853. Bookplate of Howard Douglas and Leonard Galton to front pastedowns. Regarded by many as Charlotte Bronte's greatest novel, here in an attractive binding. Sadleir 349; Smith 6; Symington, page 34; Wilson, 'Shadows In The Attic', page 106; Wise 7; Wolff 828 Size: 8vo

Seller: Temple Rare Books, Oxford, United Kingdom

Bell, Currer (Bronte, Charlotte). Villette. Smith, Elder & Company, London, 1853.

Price: US$9000.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: First Edition, First Printing with earliest advertisements dated January 1853. This TRUE FIRST EDITION has ALL 10 pages of publisher's advertisements at end of volume one. This (3) Volume set is bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's brown/tan cloth. All three books are in nice condition with light wear to the spine and edges. The bindings are tight and the pages are clean with minor wear to the edges. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the books. A wonderful set in collector's condition.

Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.

BRONTË, Charlotte. Villette By Currer Bell, Author of "Jane Eyre," "Shirley," etc. In Three Volumes.. Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1853.

Price: US$13500.00 + shipping

Description: Full Description: [BRONTË, Charlotte]. Villette. By Currer Bell, Author of "Jane Eyre," "Shirley," etc. In Three Volumes. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1853. First edition. Three octavo volumes (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches; 195 x 125 mm). [4], 324, [12, publisher's catalogue dated February 1853]; [4], 319, [1, printer's imprint]; [4], 350, [1, printer's imprint], [1, blank] pp. No half-titles called for. Original greenish-brown morocco-grain cloth decoratively stamped in blind with a three-line border enclosing a rectangular border that contains a floral design in each corner. Spines stamped in blind with a floral design at head and tail. Spines lettered in gilt. Original pale yellow coated endpapers. Top edges uncut. A very minor amount of rubbing to cloth. A bit of light finger soiling. A few pages with small marginal stains, and page 107 of volume III opened rough at fore-edge, but not affecting text. Housed in green cloth clamshell. A near fine copy in an unsophisticated state. "The novel, like its predecessor The Professor (then unpublished), is based on the author's experiences in Brussels, here renamed Villette, and also has as its centre a pupil-teacher relationship. The novel combines a masterly portrayal of Belgian daily life with a highly personal use of the elements of Gothic fiction; Charlotte Brontë uses hints of the supernatural. to heighten the impression of her heroine's nervous isolation and heroic fortitude; but all the apparitions are found to have realistic explanations" (The Oxford Companion to English Literature). Villette was published on 28 January 1853, and the earlier sets have twelve-page publisher's catalogues bearing that date. Smith records sets containing catalogues dated February 1853 [Present Copy], March 1854, and December 1854. Parrish, p. 95 (publisher's catalogue dated January 1853). Sadleir 349 (publisher's catalogue dated January 1853). Smith, Brontë, 6. Wolff 828 (publisher's catalogue dated March 1854). HBS 68801. $13,500.

Seller: Heritage Book Shop, ABAA, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.