THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A Foundling.

Early edition. Four volumes. Handsomely bound in contemporary speckled calf. Boards ruled in gilt. The spines with five raised bands, compartments ruled in gilt and with volume numbers in gilt. A very good set, the bindings square and firm with a little rubbing and occasional marking. The contents with a contemporary previous owner's inscription to the verso of the front free endpaper of each volume and the later bookplate of Einar Josefson to the front pastedowns, a small nick to the head of the title page of volume one, and a little toning to the edges of the preliminary pages, are otherwise in very good order and clean throughout.

One of the earliest English prose works to be classified as a novel, Fielding's influential comic tale of the eponymous Tom became an instant bestseller, going through four printings in its first year alone. This edition by Millar, the work's original publisher, was issued 14 years after the 1749 first edition. An attractive set in a handsome contemporary binding.