The Story of My Heart

An Autobiography

by Richard Jeffries

illustrated by Ethelbert White 

Limited edition, signed by the artist.  London:  Duckworth & Co., 1923  

Hardback is overall in VERY GOOD condition.

• Tan cloth covers are mostly clean, with leather label and gilt title on spine. 
• Boards show some edgewear.  Corners are bumped.  See photos.  
• Spine has gilt text on leather label, a little scuffed, and darkened with softened ends.  See photos.
• Binding is strong.  
• End papers/ pastedowns show little to no sign of age or wear; have an owner's inscription on ffep.
• Frontispiece is present.
• Illustrations are bright and clear, with scattered foxing in margins.  See photos.  
• Interior exhibits scattered light to moderate foxing, generally at margins.  See photos. 
• Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks. 
• Text block edges have deckle fore and foot edges, gilt along head, with some foxing. 
• PS2026.0415

146 pages. 7.5 x 10 inches

First edition thus, with wood engraving illustrations.  Signed limited edition.  Publisher's original tan cloth with gilt titles on leather label to the spine.  Top edge gilt.  Printed on pure-rag paper.  Illustrated with 36 woodcuts by Ethelbert White.  Limited edition of 225 copies, this being copy number 214 and signed by Ethelbert White on the limitation page.  Binding is firm and square, contents have scattered foxing throughout.  Condition is overall Very Good. 

John Richard Jefferies (1848–1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels.  Jefferies valued and cultivated an intensity of feeling in his experience of the world around him, a cultivation that he describes in detail in The Story of My Heart, first published in 1883.  Jefferies's success in conveying his awareness of nature and people within it, both in his fiction and in essays, has drawn admirers through the years. 

The wood engravings that illustrate the Duckworth edition of 1923 are by the English artist Ethelbert White (1891-1972).  An accomplished painter, White began engraving only in 1920.  The wood engravings, in modern style, that he made for The Story of My Heart are considered a milestone in the medium.  

First edition thus.  Limited edition of 225 copies, of which this is #214.  Signed and inscribed by artist on limitation page.

Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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