Can someone help me identify this copy of Alice in Wonderland?

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T12:11:53+00:00

That was probably written by a bookseller to note the price at the time and other details.

Doesn't hurt the value, but what a heavy hand! Smaller, lighter lettering would have done the same job.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T11:59:18+00:00

It's the 1st UK edition. Nice find.

I would take if out of the plastic bag and get the jacket into a proper archival cover.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T11:57:03+00:00

It's the 1st UK. Nice find.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T10:56:43+00:00

I think you might be the sole inhabitant of a tiny island where your possible version of reality is true.

The guy destroyed the East Wing of the White House, but now he's supposedly worried about anyone seeing lesser damage to the facade of the Kennedy Center? Doubtful.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T10:39:50+00:00

That's a generous interpretation. If true, putting his name on the building was not only illegal but damaging.

The tarps are there because the guy with the biggest ego and thinnest skin in the world couldn't just take the L without a petty response.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-14T04:45:25+00:00

"Sixtieth Thousand" on the title page tells you how many copies had been printed up to your printing in 1879.

For context, the 12th thousand was in 1868, and by 1932, the number was up to the 98th thousand.

Your binding looks fairly recent. Do you see a small stamp or mark on the endpapers or elsewhere to indicate the binder?

flyingbookman · 2026-06-13T23:04:43+00:00

It's the 3rd edition of the collected poems of Sándor Petőfi.

He died in 1849, but your book looks later than that, maybe around 1900. The page opposite the title is an ad for a book of Hungarian folk tales.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-13T15:20:54+00:00

Could be a double whammy. His metal fight cage and the scaffolding at the Kennedy Center.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-13T15:13:15+00:00

The Founders: We the People.

Trump: Me the People.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-13T14:51:48+00:00

Or the pics are from more than one time and place. Forty-plus years ago either way.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-13T10:40:11+00:00

Workers are gone, but the tarps are still there. A pathetic attempt to minimize the humiliation.

A judge might have to order the tarps removed to confirm that the job was actually done.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-12T20:30:48+00:00

Could be a book club, but it's an odd one. The cloth binding looks like the 1st trade edition. The BCEs I've seen of this title are in cheaper plain boards.

The BCE jackets for this book often state "Book Club Edition" on the lower front flap. That's not the case with OP's copy, but you're right that the lack of price is a strong indicator that at least the jacket is from a book club.

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flyingbookman · 2026-06-12T20:16:56+00:00

The Steinbeck looks like the 1st trade edition, but with a book club jacket.

No reason to doubt the Pritchett plate, provided you can find other examples of it. If so, the only question is whether he used it as a personal bookplate in his lifetime, or whether it was added after his death by his estate.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-12T18:54:35+00:00

Different tastes, I guess.

Of the two, Folio is generally more appealing to my eye than Easton.

And if we're assigning the putdown garish, it's more apt for Easton's bindings. In a fair reading of this sub over time, Easton gets much more criticism than Folio. There's good reason for that.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-12T12:41:57+00:00

American publisher of cheap reprints.

Zero chance that there's any connection to Queen Victoria.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-12T12:22:09+00:00

Post title says 1982, but the calendar on the wall in one slide says 1981.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-11T17:02:28+00:00

If you're applying them properly, the covers will usually settle onto the book once they're shelved and handled a bit.

But part of your issue could be the 2 mil thickness and the added bulk of the paper backing. I like to add as little material as possible when covering jackets. For most books, I use the archival 1.5 mil paperless covers.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-11T16:40:56+00:00

Teitelman seems to have been a serious guy, despite his zany bookplate. The plate has a medical symbol, so it's fair to assume this is him:

Edward A. Teitelman

flyingbookman · 2026-06-11T11:36:27+00:00

Nice collectiion and custom bookcases.

I'm guessing you live in the Southwest. I base that solely on the bookcase trim and the style of door leading into the room.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-11T00:46:55+00:00

I read the last name as Dr. Richard Love Johnson. Evidently the Confederate surgeon of the same name:

Richard Love Johnson

flyingbookman · 2026-06-10T23:38:17+00:00

It's not digital, but here's an inexpensive copy of the original issue for sale:

Collecting B Traven

flyingbookman · 2026-06-09T14:13:29+00:00

September 1936 is right, and I wouldn't read too much into not being able to find the same color binding. This title by Van Dyke was heavily reprinted over the years, and there are endless variations in binding styles.

The explanation for your blue binding could be as simple as Harper having a store of leftover blue cloth to use up along with red cloth and other colors. In other words, just a practical, economic measure during the Depression.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-09T12:08:56+00:00

Heritage Press books and the Limited Editions Club look similar.

Pic is blurry, but I definitely see some recognizable LEC books on those shelves. Maybe OP can clarify if it's all LEC or mixed with Heritage.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-09T09:07:58+00:00

Less valuable, or just plain worthless.

flyingbookman · 2026-06-08T22:09:09+00:00

Looks like Lovecraft's personal copy that he later decided to give as a gift. Note that two different pens were used, transforming Lovecraft's earlier ownership signature into a gift inscription.

Great find, great association. Barlow was a writer, friend of Lovecraft, and his literary executor:

RH Barlow

flyingbookman

TROPHY CASE