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Title: The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Publisher: Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia
Publication Year: 1897 (Confirmed by publisher series catalog)
Series: Beauxarts Series (No. 79)
Binding: Decorative Publisher’s Cloth (Gilt-stamped floral motif)
Description:
Up for sale is a beautiful, authentic 1897 edition of Oliver Wendell Holmes\' classic masterpiece, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, published by the famous Henry Altemus Company. This specific volume belongs to the highly collectible \"Beauxarts Series,\" known for its stunning and intricate late-Victorian decorative bindings.
The front cover and spine feature gorgeous, bright gold gilt-embossed floral patterns over chocolate brown cloth, making it an excellent shelf piece for antique book collectors, historians, or vintage home decorators.
Condition Details:
- Binding: Strong and structurally sound. The front cover gilt remains sharp and highly reflective. The rear cloth cover shows minor surface scuffs and handling smudges consistent with its 125+ year age.
- Interior: The pages are remarkably clean and crisp with tight binding. Features the beautiful, multi-colored decorative inner title page (teal and red inks) and the original frontispiece portrait illustration of Holmes with its tissue guard intact.
- Provenance/History: This volume features a fascinating piece of history on the front flyleaf—a neatly handwritten original owner’s ink signature dated 12/20/97, proving this book was purchased as a holiday gift during its exact release season in December 1897. There is also a light pencil notation from a later transfer dated 1999. No other major writing, tears, or loose pages inside.
Please review photos carefully for item condition and description
