1888 Scarce Deluxe Edition - Walden; A Week on the Concord; Essays of Thoreau

Author: Henry David Thoreau. Edited by Will H. Dircks.
Title: Walden; A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers; Essays and Other Writings.
Publisher: London, Walter Scott, 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row. Walden dated 1888 (The Walter Scott Press, Newcastle-on-Tyne).
Language: Text in English.
Size: 6.5" x 5".
Pages: Walden xxviii-336 pages; A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers xviii-349 pages; Essays and Other Writings xv-271 pages + publisher's catalogue.
Binding: Attractive and near fine, beautiful original deluxe publisher’s bindings in half crimson cloth over decorative gilt-printed cloth boards, the spines richly gilt tooled in an elegant floral pattern, with matching gilt titling panels. All edges gilt (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective, removable mylar cover. Housed in a good (small chips and tears - as shown) matching publisher slipcase of the period with coordinated gilt-patterned sides. An exceptionally scarce and visually striking presentation of Thoreau’s works.
Content: Very good, near fine,  content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and toning - as shown). One volume bears a charming Victorian prize inscription from the Edinburgh School Board (1893) to the front pastedown, adding historical character and provenance. Tight, square, and well-preserved overall.

Estimate: (Scarce with no or few other copies of this deluxe book set with slipcase available for sale worldwide).

The Book set: This is the rare deluxe issue of the Walter Scott editions of Thoreau’s writings, produced in an elegant gift-style binding far superior to the standard green cloth versions more commonly encountered. The set includes:

• Walden — 1888 issue, with introductory note by Will H. Dircks.

• A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers — with a prefatory note by Dircks.

• Essays and Other Writings — including selections of Thoreau’s prose and poems.

Printed at The Walter Scott Press, Newcastle-on-Tyne, these editions reflect the late-Victorian revival of Thoreau’s thought in Britain, introducing his philosophy of nature, simplicity, and reflective independence to a new readership. The deluxe binding and matching slipcase distinguish this set as a presentation-grade production — seldom encountered complete and in such attractive condition.

The author: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, poet, philosopher, and naturalist, remains one of the central voices of American Transcendentalism. His reflections on deliberate living, civil liberty, solitude, and the moral relationship between the individual and the natural world — especially in Walden — continue to resonate as foundational texts in environmental writing and philosophical thought.