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“Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo. Ten volumes bound in five. First edition.
Bruxelles: A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Ce, Edituers
Rue Royale, 3, Impasse du Parc
MDCCCLXII (1862)
7 x 5 in. Complete in five volumes. First ever edition of “Les Mis”. Printed around October of 1862. Quarter bound in black leather with gilt spine lettering on all volumes. Marbled boards rubbed and edges worn. Marbled endpapers in gray/green. Some spotting to text block through. All pages intact and accounted for.
The first two volumes of the Belgian edition were published several days before the Paris edition, giving it distinction as the true first edition; the remaining volumes were published May 15, 1862. This octavo size edition was intended to bring the book to a broader audience. It used the exact same text as the first printing but with smaller spaces between each letter.
From a letter from Hugo to the publisher: “En publiant aujourd hui l édition bon marché en petit format, vous recommencez, avec plus d intensité encore, le mouvement et l’effet des premiers jours ; vous faites pénétrer le livre dans les couches profondes et inépuisables du peuple!” - October 20, 1862.
Last set sold on Black Friday so just couldn’t resist getting another one. Tracked the first one down from the island of Réunion off the coast of Madagascar; this one was just from a seller in Paris.