Black Beauty

London: Jarrold and Sons, 1877. First Edition. Good. First edition, first printing of the classic equine novel; in Carter's variant C binding. Good. Cloth well-worn and soiled, textblock edge lightly spotted, inner hinges repaired, pencil markings to brown coated endsheets, effaced owner name to first blank sheet and owner name in pencil to title page, light cigar smoke odor to pages, pages thumbed. Written by Sewell during the last years of her life, which she spent home-bound. She died five months after it's publication, living just long enough to see the book become a success. It went on to become one of the most well-known books of the Victorian era, as well as one of the best-selling books of all time. Additionally, the novel was notable for being used as a tool to advocate for more humane treatment of horses, drawing attention to a number of restrictive objects commonly in use at the time such as bearing reins and blinkers.