1839 Rare 1st Illustrated Edition – Marmion A Tale of Flodden Field Walter Scott

Author: Sir Walter Scott, Baronet.
Title: Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field. Illustrated Edition.
Publisher: London, Charles Tilt, Fleet Street, 1839. Printed by E., B., and G. Clarke, Silver Street, Falcon Square. First Illustrated Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 6.5 x 4 inches.
Pages: 312 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good, near fine, beautiful contemporary armorial binding in full green morocco. Spine with gilt titles and gilt decorative compartments, boards framed in gilt rules and stamped with the ancestral Scott coat-of-arms (later incorporated into the Buccleuch arms) (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare foxing mainly affecting the engraved plates and engraved title (owing to different paper stock used), while text pages remain cleaner - as shown, with the armorial bookplate of Sir Henry Hope Edwardes, 10th Baronet of Shrewsbury, on the front pastedown - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with 11 engraved illustrations: an engraved frontispiece, engraved title page, letterpress title page, and nine additional fine steel-engraved plates by leading artists, all with tissue guards. Plates retain strong impressions.

Estimate: (USD 300 – 350).

The book: This is the first illustrated edition of Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field (first published in 1808), here produced in 1839 by Charles Tilt, a notable London publisher of finely bound illustrated volumes. Marmion is one of Scott’s most celebrated romantic epics, recounting the Battle of Flodden (1513) with its themes of chivalry, betrayal, and patriotism. This Tilt edition is distinguished not only by its engravings but also by its luxurious morocco binding featuring the Scott family arms, making it an exceptional presentation of the text. Copies such as this were likely issued for the collector’s market, appealing to those with literary and antiquarian interests. 

The author: Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), the great Scottish poet and novelist, is best remembered as the father of the historical novel. His works, including Ivanhoe, The Lady of the Lake, and Marmion, profoundly shaped 19th-century literature and historical imagination. Marmion, published in 1808, was among his most popular poetic romances, cementing his reputation and influencing Romantic-era nationalism.