Description
Offered here is an 1866 The Biographical Treasury: A Dictionary of Universal Biography by Samuel Maunder, in its substantial full-leather Victorian binding. This is the thirteenth edition, reconstructed, thoroughly revised, and partly rewritten by William L. R. Cates for Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer of London.
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Thirteenth edition (1866), the important Cates revision with 1,000+ additional memoirs
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Classic one-volume Victorian biographical dictionary with short lives of 12,000+ figures
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Original full calf leather with gilt rules and red spine label, raised bands present
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Engraved frontispiece of small biographical vignettes facing the title page
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Family gift inscriptions on front free endpaper (one dated July 1887, another “Arthur & Teddy from Daddy, June, 1950”) adding a nice sense of provenance
Condition: Fair/good reading and display copy. Full leather binding heavily worn, with scuffing, rubbing, and chipping to the spine, especially at the head; some surface loss to the spine label. Boards remain attached and the thick text block feels sound. Endpapers and prelims show toning and a vertical fore-edge water stain that continues into the early pages but does not affect legibility of the text. Expected age toning and scattered foxing throughout, but pages are generally clean and perfectly usable. No loose gatherings noted in normal handling.
This is an appealing original 1866 leather-bound example of Maunder’s classic biographical reference work, representing the key Victorian revision by William L. R. Cates and still a handsome shelf piece despite its honest wear. In addition to the condition notes above, please view all the photos carefully for the best sense of appearance and state.
