The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith - Charles Nodier - Pagnerre, Publisher Paris 1847

A particularly beautifully bound copy of Le Vicaire de Wakefield by the Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, published in Paris by Pagnerre in 1847. This French edition contains the translation by Charles Nodier, preceded by his study of the life and work of Goldsmith and followed by extensive explanatory notes.

Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield was originally published in the eighteenth century and became a classic of English literature. The work remained exceptionally popular throughout the nineteenth century and reached a wide European readership through various translations. The influential French writer Charles Nodier provided a new French translation, of which this copy is an early 1847 edition.

Particularly attractive is the nineteenth-century half-leather binding. The deep blue spine features blind-stamped compartments, gilt lines, and a gilt-stamped title. The covers are clad in blue and gold marbled paper. Inside, the book is finished with lavishly marbled endpapers in red, blue, green, orange, and cream, while the top edge is also decoratively marbled.

The binding has remained remarkably sturdy for its age. The leather and boards show signs of use, and the spine has faded slightly over the course of nearly two centuries, but the gilt stamping is still clearly legible and the piece has retained its refined appearance. The text block shows light age-toning and localized foxing. There are two old ownership marks on the title page.

A lovely antiquarian copy in which not only the literary history, but especially the nineteenth-century bookbinding, forms an important part of the object.

Details:

• Author: Oliver Goldsmith
• Title: Le Vicaire de Wakefield
• Language: French
• Translation: Charles Nodier
• With a notice on the life and work of Goldsmith by Charles Nodier
• Publisher: Pagnerre, Éditeur
• Place of publication: Paris
• Year: 1847
• Binding: half-leather binding with marbled boards
• Blue spine with gilt stamping and blind-stamped decoration
• Marbled endpapers
• Decoratively marbled top edge
• Dimensions: approx. 18.5 × 12.5 cm
• Thickness: approx. 1.5 cm
• Old ownership stamps on the title page
• Old pencil notes in the front
• Condition: good antiquarian condition
• Binding sturdy and text block well-coherent
• Light wear to binding, edges, and corners
• Spine slightly faded
• Paper lightly discolored with localized foxing and minor signs of age