Washington Irving — The Sketch Book

London, George Routledge, 1850. Leather. A very scarce revised edition of Washington Irving's famous collection of short stories, including a preface concerning his struggles with publishing in Europe. A very scarce revised edition of The Sketch Book, the famous collection of short stories, written by prolific American author Washington Irving. Published in 1850, first published serially from 1819-1820. No institutional copies are available of this particular revised edition from Routledge in the UK. In half black calf, half marble boards.  Most famous for his short stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Van Winkle, both included in this anthology, Irving was among the first american authors to earn acclaim in Euorpe. This revised edition contains an intriguing preface about the author's struggles publishing in England, and his gratitude to Sir Walter Scott for assisting him in becoming established among European booksellers. In half black calf, half marble boards. Externally, slight fading to marble boards, and to spine, heaviest to spine label with title barely visible. Slight rubbing to joints and a couple of rubbing marks to spine, with slight bumping to the head and tail of spine, and to the extremities. End papers are generally bright and clean with a couple of faint spots. Previous owner's ink inscription to front pastedown. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean, with a couple of faint marks to first leaves. Very Good . Ill.: None. Very Good .