Villette – Charlotte Brontë (Currer Bell) – 1853 Tauchnitz Edition – 2 Volumes in 1 – Contemporary Half Leather – Provenance

**VILLETTE – CHARLOTTE BRONTË (CURRER BELL) – TAUCHNITZ, LEIPZIG, 1853** **First Tauchnitz Edition – Two Volumes Bound in One – Contemporary Half-Leather Binding** An important nineteenth-century continental edition of Charlotte Brontë's celebrated novel *Villette*, published in Leipzig by Bernhard Tauchnitz in 1853, the same year as the first English edition. Published under Brontë's famous literary pseudonym **Currer Bell**, this edition was issued as volumes 256 and 257 of Tauchnitz's *Collection of British Authors*, one of the most influential series in the history of English-language publishing on the Continent. This example contains both volumes bound together in a single contemporary half-leather binding, with marbled paper-covered boards and gilt-decorated spine. Both original title pages are present and dated 1853. **BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS** Author: Charlotte Brontë (Currer Bell) Title: *Villette* Publisher: Bernhard Tauchnitz Place: Leipzig, Germany Date: 1853 Edition: Tauchnitz Copyright Edition Series: Collection of British Authors, Nos. 256–257 Volume I: 352 numbered pages Volume II: 372 numbered pages Format: Two volumes bound in one Binding: Contemporary half leather with marbled boards Language: English **BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INTEREST** The edition corresponds in title-page details and pagination to the 1853 Tauchnitz edition documented in William B. Todd and Ann Bowden's authoritative bibliography, *Tauchnitz International Editions in English, 1841–1955* (1988), entries 256–257. Both volumes retain their original 1853 title pages, contents and concluding text, including the printed Tauchnitz imprints. No original half-title leaves or publisher's advertisements are present. Although the copy corresponds to the bibliographical description of the first Tauchnitz edition, its precise printing or impression has not been conclusively determined. This is the original nineteenth-century edition, not a modern facsimile or reproduction. **CONDITION** Good antiquarian condition overall. The contemporary half-leather binding has considerable age-related wear, including rubbing and scuffing to the marbled boards, worn corners, and wear to the spine, joints and extremities. The original decorative spine tooling remains partly visible. Internally, the text is generally well preserved, with age toning, scattered foxing, occasional marks and some staining consistent with its age. Minor marginal wear and occasional corner creasing are present. Both volumes retain their title pages and continuous numbered texts, with no missing numbered text pages identified during examination. Period ownership markings are present. Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description. **PROVENANCE** From the library of **C. Vivian Henry**, with his distinctive illustrated *Ex Libris* bookplate featuring Geoffrey Chaucer on horseback. Henry was associated with the Carlton Club in London. This provides an additional documented ownership history and makes the copy of interest to collectors of books with identifiable provenance. **COLLECTABILITY** *Villette*, first published in 1853, is one of Charlotte Brontë's most important novels and a landmark of Victorian psychological fiction. Early Tauchnitz editions are particularly interesting to collectors of Brontë, Victorian literature and nineteenth-century international publishing. The combination of an 1853-dated Tauchnitz edition, both volumes bound together in a contemporary binding, and identifiable private-library provenance makes this an appealing historical copy. **SHIPPING** Carefully packed and dispatched from Spain with tracked shipping. Worldwide shipping available. Combined postage can be arranged for multiple purchases. From a private collection assembled over more than thirty years.…