8vo. Five volumes bound in one. Contemporary half calf in gilt (rubbing, toning, foxing). Provenance: Mrs. J. Thompson (signature); Gertrude A. Bell (signature); R.A. Bell (signature).

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. A close friend of Victor Hugo, Charles E. Wilbour began his translation of Les Misérables 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.