Beckford, William. VATHEK: AN ARABIAN TALE. 1893 edition. Wheatley’s copy.

Description

Beckford, William. VATHEK: AN ARABIAN TALE. London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1893.

Dennis Wheatley’s copy, with his bookplate. Inscribed by the editor, Richard Garnett.

With notes by Samuel Henley, and etchings by Herbert Nye

 Fine in purple cloth with gold borders to both boards, in sewn binding with head and tailbands and raised bands to the gilt-stamped spine. Marbled endpapers. 8 pages of plates.  Bookplate of thriller writer Dennis Wheatley to front pastedown. Gift inscription by the volume’s editor, fantasy writer Richard Garnett, to Martha Garnett (“Martha Garnett,/ with Richard Garnett’s/ affectionate regards/ Christmas, 1895”) . The sumptuous purple binding may have been done especially for Wheatley, as other copies of this edition are in red boards.

This copy is number 49 of only 600 copies issued (450 copies printed for England and 150 for America). 253 pp. Notes: Title page printed in red and black; title page vignette. “The text of the third English edition (1816) has been followed in the present volume. This text (which differs considerably from the text of the first edition) was retained in the edition of 1834, which was the last edition published during Beckford’s lifetime.”