Rare Book & Collectors' Sale June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

42 IMPERFECTIONS NOT STATED Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 308. Rare Edition of Important Gothic Novel Shelley (MaryWollstonecraft) Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. &W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823, Second Edn., (A New Edition) [XI, 249, 280] contemporary hf. calf, marbled boards, blind design paneled spine, mor. label. good copy. Ex. Scarce. (1) Note: Second Edition of Mary Shelley's horror masterpiece, and the first to bear the author's full name and include her preface in which she briefly mentions the well-documented occasion on which she and her friends "amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation." The incredibly Scarce Second Edition of one of the most famous works in English literature; the first was published in 1818. Shelley penned this Gothic sci-fi blockbuster at the tender age of 19 after a literary gathering at Lord Byron's rented vacation manor Villa Diodati near Geneva. Often called the first of its kind, the ever poignant and thought provoking Frankenstein paved the way for science fiction writing. With its themes of loneliness and terror amid human technology gone awry, it continues to resonate deeply within popular culture. €7,000 - €9,000