SIGNED LIMITED FIRST ONE-VOLUME EDITION OF A KENTUCKY CARDINAL AND AFTERMATH, HANDSOMELY BOUND

ALLEN, James Lane. A Kentucky Cardinal and Aftermath. New York: Macmillan, 1900. Large octavo, three-quarter burgundy morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled boards, top edge gilt, uncut. $550.

Signed limited first edition of this one-volume compilation of Allen’s critically lauded antebellum romance between a naturalist and a society girl and its sequel, number 75 of only 100 copies signed by the author, with 48 lovely full-page illustrations and numerous engraved vignettes and page decorations, handsomely bound.

Set in 1850, this antebellum love story traces the relationship between a naturalist and a society girl. The author, James Lane Allen, was a native of Lexington, Kentucky. Though he was born before the Civil War, it was underway by his teenage years, forever changing his prospects as a Southerner. Ultimately, he moved to New York in the hopes of becoming a writer. It was A Kentucky Cardinal that brought him initial critical recognition. He followed it with Aftermath in the hopes of capitalizing on that acclaim. Several single-volume editions followed, of which this was the first. The first editions of these novels were published individually in 1894 and 1895.

A few spots of scattered foxing to interior, binding generally quite handsome. A very nearly fine copy.