Hardy, Thomas | The superb Terry copy of the author's masterpiece

Property from the Workman Collection

Hardy, Thomas

Tess of the D'Urbervilles. A Faithful Woman. London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1891

3 vols., 8vo. Half-titles; one or two stray spots to preliminaries. Original smooth tan cloth, two-stem honeysuckle design by Charles Ricketts to front covers blocked in gilt; spines nearly imperceptibly sunned. Housed in custom brown morocco clamshell case. Overall, a fine set. 

The Terry-de Berkeley Parsons copy. First edition in book form, first issue—"A superb set, believed to be one of the finest extant"

"And it was the touch of the imperfect upon the would-be perfect that gave the sweetness, because it was that which gave the humanity."

Tess first appeared in serialized—and censored—form in the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891, and in this three-volume format later in 1891. Navigating themes such as the pagan and the neo-Biblical, the environment and the industrial age, female sexuality and Victorian morality, the novel typifies the "ache of modernism" Hardy experienced and explored through his writing.

Printed in an edition of 1,000, Tess of the D'Urbervilles was an instant success, though it was met with a great deal of controversy. The triple-decker format, present here, was often sold to lending libraries, and copies are generally found in worn condition, this institutional labels present, or having been inexpertly removed. 

An exceptional copy of Hardy's greatest work, and one of English literature's most enduring texts.

REFERENCE:

Purdy 67; Sadleir 1114; Webb 24-26; Wolff 2993

PROVENANCE:

Seth Sprague Terry and Ward E. Terry (their sale, Anderson Galleries, 4-5 December 1935, lot 201; booklabel to front pastedowns) — Katharine de Berkeley Parsons (her sale, Sotheby's New York, 6 October 1976, lot 96; booklabel to front pastedowns)