Adelbert von Chamisso, Friedrich De La Motte Fouque [trans.] - Peter Schlemihl - G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1824, First Edition.


Availability: In Stock Out Of Stock
Code: 7801

£0.00 £0.00
Earn 0 Rewards Points

SOLD
ADD TO WISHLIST

London, G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1824. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. First English Edition, preceded by the original German novella ten years earlier. A wonderful work of supernatural fantasy wherein the eponymous Peter is encouraged by the Devil to exchange his shadow for the purse of Fortunatus (basically a credit card with no limit). Things don't quite work out (do they ever in folk tales?) and society rejects him sans shadow. Of particular pain is the rejection from the woman he loves. The Devil ups the ante offering him his shadow back in return for his soul. Peter has had enough though and calls it quits, opting for a life of poverty and isolation. In due course a pair of seven-league boots turn up in a local village market and he heads off exploring from Tibet to the Arctic to the Pillars of Hercules. He gathers botanical specimans en route (von Chamisso was a botanist). Finally, old and a little worse for wear, society accepts him. An important tap-root for the development of the speculative genre. The trope of a lost shadow has been used sparingly in subsequent fantasy (certainly less so than the seven-league boots) though perhaps best remembered in Dunsany's The Charwoman's Shadow and Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. A classic work of early fantasy. [Clute & Grant, p177; Schlemihl, 2011]. There were a number of issues of this edition, the present copy has the illustrator's name spelt incorrectly, a hyphen on the publisher's address, the date 1824 on the title page, no adverts leaf, and a half-title present. Rebound in leather, spine tips and corners bumped and rubbed. Foxed throughout. Cover art by Illustrations by George Cruikshank [7801, Hyraxia Books].


Have a question?







You may also like

John Mitchel - Jail Journal; or Five Years in British Prisons - R & T Washbourne, n.d. [1854], First Edition.

John Mitchel - Jail Journal; or Five Years in British Prisons - R & T Washbourne, n.d. [1854], First Edition.

£175.00
Andrew Lang - The Mark of Cain - J.W. Arrowsmith, 1886, First Edition.

Andrew Lang - The Mark of Cain - J.W. Arrowsmith, 1886, First Edition.

£100.00
Edgar Saltus - A Transient Guest w/ The Pace that Kills - Bedford, Clarke, 1888-1889, First Edition.

Edgar Saltus - A Transient Guest w/ The Pace that Kills - Bedford, Clarke, 1888-1889, First Edition.

£100.00
Steven Erikson - Dust of Dreams - Bantam Press, 2009, First Edition.

Steven Erikson - Dust of Dreams - Bantam Press, 2009, First Edition.

£40.00
H. Rider Haggard - Three Autograph Manuscripts in Translation of Ayesha, Benita and The Ghost Kings - None, 1906-1909, Manuscript.

H. Rider Haggard - Three Autograph Manuscripts in Translation of Ayesha, Benita and The Ghost Kings - 1906-1909.

£1,750.00
Phil Frowde - The Fall of Saguntum. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields - J. Crokatt and T. Wood, 1727, First Edition.

Phil Frowde - The Fall of Saguntum. A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields - J. Crokatt and T. Wood, 1727, First Edition.

£300.00
George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire - A Partial Set of Limited Editions - Subterranean Press, 2014-2019, Signed Limited Edition.

George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire - A Partial Set of Limited Editions - Subterranean Press, 2014-2019, Signed Limited Edition.

£2,950.00
Ella Haggard - Life and its Author with a Memoir by H. Rider Haggard - Longmans, Green & Co., 1890, First Edition.

Ella Haggard - Life and its Author with a Memoir by H. Rider Haggard - Longmans, Green & Co., 1890, First Edition.

£120.00
Mrs [Lydia Maria] Child - The Coronal - Carter and Hendee, 1832, First Edition.

Mrs [Lydia Maria] Child - The Coronal - Carter and Hendee, 1832, First Edition.

£100.00
F.C. Burnand - Strapmore! A Romance by Weeder - Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1878, First Edition.

F.C. Burnand - Strapmore! A Romance by Weeder - Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1878, First Edition.

£80.00
Lewis Morris - The Epic of Hades - Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1886, 20th Edition.

Lewis Morris - The Epic of Hades - Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1886, 20th Edition.

£100.00
Anonymous [Thomas Roscoe] - Italian Tales: Tales of Humour, Gallantry, & Romance - Charles Baldwyn, 1824, First Edition.

Anonymous [Thomas Roscoe] - Italian Tales: Tales of Humour, Gallantry, & Romance - Charles Baldwyn, 1824, First Edition.

£300.00
George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones - Voyager, 1996, First Edition.

George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones - Voyager, 1996, First Edition.

£875.00
Charles Lamb - Tales from Shakespeare - Arthur Hall & Co., n.d., Later Edition.

Charles Lamb - Tales from Shakespeare - Arthur Hall & Co., n.d., Later Edition.

£100.00
George Augustus Sala - Dead Men Tell No Tales; But Live Men Do - John Dicks, 1884, First Edition.

George Augustus Sala - Dead Men Tell No Tales; But Live Men Do - John Dicks, 1884, First Edition.

£135.00
Charles Henry - Bainbridge Holme: A Novel - Remington and Co., 1881, First Edition.

Charles Henry - Bainbridge Holme: A Novel - Remington and Co., 1881, First Edition.

£150.00
Anon [Arthur Hamilton] - Confessions of a Scribbler: Containing Among Other Curious Autobiographical Matter, his Experiences of the Printers, Publishers, Reviewers and Readers of a Modern Book - H.W. Southey, nd [1879], First Edition.

Anon [Arthur Hamilton] - Confessions of a Scribbler: Containing Among Other Curious Autobiographical Matter, his Experiences of the Printers, Publishers, Reviewers and Readers of a Modern Book - H.W. Southey, nd [1879], First Edition.

£175.00
Washington Irving - Knickerbocker's History of New York: Van Twiller Edition - G.P. Putnam's, 1894, First Edition.

Washington Irving - Knickerbocker's History of New York: Van Twiller Edition - G.P. Putnam's, 1894, First Edition.

£150.00
Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crebillon [Crebillon fils] - L'ecumoire, Histoire Japonoise [actually Tanzai et Neadarne] - No Publisher, 1735, Second Edition.

Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crebillon [Crebillon fils] - L'ecumoire, Histoire Japonoise [actually Tanzai et Neadarne] - 1735, Second Edition.

£500.00
Eden Phillpotts - Alcyone - Ernest Benn, 1930, Limited Edition.  Signed

Eden Phillpotts - Alcyone - Ernest Benn, 1930, Signed Limited Edition.

£100.00

This website is Copyright © 2019. Email: shop@hyraxia.com, Phone: 07557 652 609

Powered by ShopWired, UK Ecommerce Platform