[Defoe, Daniel.]

8vo (193 x 120mm.), first edition, title with double rules, nineteenth-century panelled calf gilt by Robson and Kerslake, gilt edges, morocco clamshell case, title page restored at head with upper border provided in facsimile, ink crossing out on p.116, O6 with small rust-hole affecting a letter or two, printing flaw at 2Ar, occasional spotting and soiling

Sir Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, Marquess of Crewe, armorial bookplate

Furbank and Owens 213; Moore 446; Rothschild 777; Sabin 19278

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Defoe's great novel of crime and transportation, haunted, like all his works, by the question of evil: rare in first edition, and missing from many significant collections.

"The first English author to write without imitating or adapting foreign works... to devise for himself an artistic form which is perhaps without precedent... is Daniel Defoe, father of the English novel" (James Joyce, writing of Moll Flanders, "Daniel Defoe", ed. and trans. J. Prescott, Buffalo Studies, 1, 1964, 7).