OF HUMAN BONDAGE

New York: George G. Doran Company, 1915. FIRST EDITION, First Issue, with the misprint on p. 257. 200 x 132 mm. (7 7/8 x 5 1/4"). 2 p.l., 648 pp.
Handsome modern maroon morocco, gilt by Asprey (signed on front pastedown), covers with graceful frame, raised bands, spine compartments with floral lancet centerpiece, gilt lettering, heavily gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Stott A21a. Spine very lightly sunned, final leaf with tiny tear to upper corner, but a very fine copy in a decorative binding.

This is an excellent copy of Maugham's masterpiece, offered here in an attractive fine binding by the prestigious Asprey firm. The work is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows Philip Carey, a young boy with a clubfoot and sensitive disposition, as he becomes an orphan, is raised by his rigid uncle, and ultimately moves abroad in search of meaning and fulfillment. His journey is marked by intense emotional struggles--including a particularly volatile relationship with a waitress named Mildred--which ultimately lead him to seek contentment closer to home. Though now considered one of the most influential novels of the 20th century, Maugham's work did not meet with immediate success. As DNB tells us, "The novel was coolly received in Britain and America and became a best-seller only after an effusive review by the influential American critic and distinguished novelist Theodore Dreiser in the 'New Republic' (25 December 1915), in which he described the book as of 'the utmost importance' and its author as a 'great artist.'" The high-end New Bond Street emporium Asprey has been a London fixture since 1781, serving as jewellers to a long line of British monarchs, and selling a range of luxury goods, including finely bound books (for a short time, they even owned the merged firms of Zaehnsdorf and Sangorski & Sutcliffe)..