Hardy (Thomas) Far from the Madding Crowd, 2 vol., first edition in book form, first impression, wood engraved frontispieces and 10 plates by Helen Allingham, one with short marginal tear, spotting, near contemporary half-calf, sunned spines, a little rubbed, [Purdy pp.13-18], 8vo, 1874.

⁂ The first of Hardy's six great novels and the first set in the fictional area of Wessex. Initially published anonymously in monthly instalments in the Cornhill Magazine from January to December 1874, each with a full-page illustration and vignette initial by Helen Paterson (who became Helen Allingham during the run when she married the poet William Allingham in August 1874). In a later letter to Edmund Gosse, Hardy described her as "the best illustrator I ever had" (Purdy, p.13).