8vo (178 x 102 mm). Half-title. ORIGINAL PUBLISHER’S DRAB BOARDS, PRINTED PAPER SPINE LABEL, UNCUT (upper cover detached, spine label chipped, splitting to lower joint); morocco pull-off case and folding chemise. Provenance: J. G. Cole (early ownership signature on upper cover).

FIRST EDITION in book form of “the most famous account of drug addiction in English literature” (Norman) and the earliest example of “addiction literature” in the English language. Confessions was first published in The London Magazine in October and November 1821; an appendix, added to the editions in book form, included a tabulated statement of De Quincey’s opium consumption during a time when he was attempting to reduce his dependency. Ashley II, p. 37; Norman 619; Phantastica 57; Sterling 229; Tinker 817.