"ONE OF THE LONGEST AND MOST DISTINCTIVE LITERARY CAREERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY"

COLLINS, Wilkie. Hide and Seek. London: Richard Bentley, 1854. Three volumes. Octavo, late 19th century full tan calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, red and blue morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt. $2000.

First edition of the first version of Collins' enduring and popular work, handsomely bound by Riviere and Son.

Collins had "one of the longest and most distinctive literary careers of the nineteenth century… In the course of nearly half a century's writing [he] tried many new ways of reaching and expanding his audience. Dickensian Christmas books, short stories, three-decker novels, magazine and newspaper serializations flowed from his pen with a productivity unchecked" (Bowen 4-5). In Hide and Seek for the first time the solution of a mystery becomes the explicit focus of Collins' work, making this in that sense the first of his mystery novels. The novel sold poorly, and Collins later revised and reissued it in 1861. Bookplate.

Interior generally clean, binding fine. A beautiful copy.