The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the French. With a Preliminary View of the French Revolution.
London: Longman, Hurst, Reese, Orme & Brown, 1827. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. Very Good+. Item #000147
In 9 Volumes. Half calf green binding with contemporary brown spine, with very nice gilt decoration and lettering of title, and volume number, and slightly raised bands. Marbled fore-edge. Vol 1: v, ad. + iv contents, 348 p.p.; Vol. 2: v, 399 p.p.; Vol. 3: v, 350 p.p.; Vol. 4: vii, 381 p.p.; Vol. 5: vii, 415 p.p.; Vol. 6: vi, 381 p.p.; Vol. 7: xi, 623 p.p.; Vol. 8: viii, 518 p.p.; Vol 9: vi, 338 p.p., clxxxvii appendix. Rubbing on edges and extremeties of boards; some foxing and stained pages [Vols. I-IX]. Small thread showing at bottom of p.375, text unaffected; [Vol. III] small chip above vol. no. on spine; [Vol. 4] stain on front and rear board, with scratch on vol no.; [Vol. 5] bumped edges and small chip on top right corner. Otherwise in very good condition. Walter Scott's (1771-1832) plan for a biography on The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte was announced in his Tales of the Crusaders in June of 1825. It was originally intended in four volumes to be published in inexpensive editions called Miscellany, from Scottish publisher Archibald Constable. In 1826, Constable's firm crashed, along with the printer Ballantyne and Co., putting Scott under significant financial hardship. That same year, he would also suffer a personal loss with the passing of his wife. In order to research his biography, Scott went corresponded with military leaders and politicians, including the Duke of Wellington, who provided a first hand account of Napoleon's campaign in Russia. On a trip to England, he was granted access to archives regarding Napoleon's exile on a trip to London in 1826, and later met with with Napoleon's colleagues on one of his trips to Paris. The biography was completed and published in June, 1827.
Price: $1,200.00