1868 First Edition - The Story Without an End by Sarah Austin, Illustrated
Author: Carové, Friedrich Wilhelm. Translated by Sarah Austin.
Title: The Story Without an End.
Publisher: London, Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, Milton House, Ludgate Hill, 1868. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10 x 7.5 inches
Pages: vi-40 pages.
Binding: Very good and attractive original first edition publisher’s green cloth binding, richly decorated and lettered in gilt on the front cover and spine, featuring an elaborate design of ivy and a dragonfly within a web motif by E.V.B. (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt.
Content: Good to very good content (bright, tight, some light foxing or staining - as shown, a charming contemporary presentation inscription (“W. A. Pears / from his Father & Mother”) appears on the title page - as shown, inner hinge of endpapers worn but still tight - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with all 15 exquisite full-page color plates printed in colors after the drawings by E.V.B. (Eleanor Vere Boyle). The plates remain vivid and beautifully preserved, with delicate detail characteristic of early chromolithographic printing.
Estimate: (USD 300 – 500).
The book: A beautiful and scarce first edition of The Story Without an End, one of the most enduring allegories of the 19th century. Sarah Austin’s graceful English translation of Friedrich Carové’s philosophical tale, paired with Eleanor Vere Boyle’s luminous illustrations, embodies the height of Victorian aesthetic and spiritual sensibility. The book’s gilt dragonfly cover—one of the most striking Art Nouveau precursors of its time—captures the ethereal spirit of the text, celebrating the eternal harmony between childhood innocence and nature’s endless renewal. A cornerstone in any collection of Victorian illustrated literature.
The author: Friedrich Wilhelm Carové (1789–1852) was a German philosopher and writer. His Geschichte ohne Ende (“Story Without an End”), first published in 1830, reflects Romantic idealism and explores the unity of soul and nature, influencing later mystical and transcendental writings in Europe and England.
The translator: Sarah Austin (1793–1867), a leading English translator and intellectual, was instrumental in bringing German Romantic thought to Victorian audiences. Her translation of The Story Without an End has remained the standard English edition for over a century.
The illustrator: Eleanor Vere Boyle (E.V.B.) (1825–1916), one of the earliest professional female illustrators of the Victorian era, brought a Pre-Raphaelite delicacy and spiritual grace to her work. Her illustrations for The Story Without an End—her most celebrated book—are among the finest examples of early color printing in England.