[Literature] Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables

New York: Carleton, Publisher, 1862. In five volumes. First American edition and first edition in English. 8vo. Translated from the French by Charles E. Wilbour. Publisher's purple cloth-covered boards, decorated in blind and in gilt, boards and spines unevenly faded; scattered light rubbing and wear to boards and extremities; spine ends variously, but generally, lightly worn; all edges trimmed; scattered foxing to text; wear in top corner of rear paste-down of first volume; binder's ticket at bottom of each rear paste-down, except for the third volume (George W. Alexander, New York); in fall-down-back box.

A handsome set of the first American edition and first edition in English of Victor Hugo's classic, published in the same year as the first French edition.

Charles E. Wilbour began his translation of Les Miserables shortly before the book was published in France. His quick work allowed it to appear in the United States within a few months of the French release, and the fierce advertising campaign Wilbour waged on the book's behalf resulted in it becoming one of the most popular bestsellers of the nineteenth century--behind only Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in pre-Civil War American book sales.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance

From the collection of Justin G. Schiller

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Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

Books and Manuscripts

[Literature] Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables

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