1868 Rare Gothic Book - Vathek, an Arabian Tale by William Thomas Beckford. Illustrated.

Author: William Beckford.
Title: Vathek; An Arabian Tale.
Publisher: London, William Tegg, 1868.
Language: Text in English.
Size:6.5" X 4.5".
Pages: xxii-184 pages + publisher's catalog.
Binding: Very good original full-cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, name of a previous owner on the first endpaper and the first blank page - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the 11 beautiful full-page illustrations.

The book: Rare and beautifully illustrated edition of VATHEK, a gothic novel penned by William Beckford. This 1868 edition, published by William Tegg, is a testament to the lasting appeal of this masterpiece of gothic literature.

The author: William Beckford (1760-1844) was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer, and sometime politician, reputed at one stage in his life to be the richest commoner in England. His fame rests on his Gothic novel Vathek and his construction of the remarkable lost Fonthill Abbey and Lansdown Tower (Beckford's Tower), Bath.