SHELLEY, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT. 1797-1851. Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. London: Henry C...

SHELLEY, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT. 1797-1851. Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. Small 8vo (164 x 98 mm). Engraved frontispiece and extra engraved title page, bound without the letterpress series title reading 'Standard Novels No. IX.' Contemporary half sheep and marbled boards, spine gilt in 5 compartments with black morocco lettering piece. Provenance: William Smith, Canterbury (bookplate). FIRST EDITION THUS, with two engraved illustrations and extensively revised text by Shelley, including a new introduction. This was the first version of the text to include the origin story of the work, in which the guests gathered at Villa Diodati in Switzerland in 1816 were challenged by Lord Byron to all write a ghost story. Frankenstein was first published in 1818, with a second edition appearing in 1823. This edition was originally published as volume 9 of 'Bentley's Standard Novels,' bound with part 1 of Friedrich Schiller's The Ghost-Seer, which has been excluded from the present example. Lyles B4a; Sadleir 3734a; Summers p 330; Wolff 6280a. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing