This Fine two-volume set is the First edition of this title. William Makepeace Thackeray was also the author of Vanity Fair and Pendennis. The books are bound in half-leather over marbled boards. There are ornate gilt decorations to the spines and the gilt is still bright and beautiful. The lettering on the spines has some fading but is still legible. The endpapers are also marbled and these volumes contain many illustrations on wood and steel by Richard Doyle. The tissue guards over the vignette title pages are present and in excellent condition. The textblocks are clean with no foxing and the plates show some shading from age, particularly to the perimeters. The volumes reside in their own mylar wrappers within a custom-crafted leather presentation case. The leather is of the highest quality and it matches the leather on the books. It is in a rich red color. This is simply a very fine set of the first edition of a major nineteenth century novel. Please see my other auctions and visit my Ebay Store for many Fine antiquarian editions. In true Victorian style Thackeray tells this story with energy and skill. The ladies are either virtuous or wicked. Admirers of Thackeray have often felt that Colonel Newcome is the most perfect gentleman in fiction. Thackeray's aim was to show the reader the evil effect of certain social conventions of the nineteenth century. These include parental marriage choices, the over-indulgence in the accumulation of wealth, and the worldliness of the upper classes. A terrific story and a fine work of literature. We are pleased to send pictures on request.