The Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Illustrated, 1931

Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner, as related by Himself. London: Humphrey Milford, 1931. Embellished with plates after designs by Noel Pocock. Bound by Birdsall in half blue Moroccan leather and blue cloth boards, gilt ruled, with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine. New archival slipcase with inlaid illustration on front. 

Finely bound example of Daniel Defoe’s classic tale of adventure, The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner, as related by Himself. This edition was published in 1931 by the London based Humphrey Milford. The book is bound by Birdsall in half blue Moroccan leather and blue cloth boards, with gilt ruling, gilt titles, and raised bands to the spine. The book is further embellished with tipped plates, in color, after designs by Noel Pocock. 

The book was originally published in London in 1719. Defoe’s first long work of fiction, it introduced two of the most-enduring characters in English literature, Robinson Crusoe and Friday. Defoe based part of Robinson Crusoe on the real-life experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who lived on a remote island from 1704 to 1709, yet Defoe extended well beyond Selkirk’s story, weaving in tales of piracy, slavery, religion, adventure, and exploration. In his writing, Defoe blended the traditions of travel literature and adventure stories with fables, allegory, and even memoir, creating a writing style all his own. 

Robinson Crusoe was a popular success in Britain, and it went through four editions in the months after its first publication. Translations were quickly published on the European continent, and Defoe wrote a sequel, The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, that was also published that same year, in 1719. 

CONDITION:

Very good condition. Octavo. Bound by Birdsall in half blue Moroccan leather and blue cloth boards, gilt ruled, with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine. Some sunning to spines. With tipped-in plates after designs by Noel Pocock. Past owner's bookplate. New archival cloth slipcase with inlaid illustration of Robinson Crusoe.

Book Dimensions: 9 1/2" H x 7 1/4" W x 1 3/4" D

With Slipcase: 9 3/4" H x 7 1/2" W x 2 1/4" D