Attractive 1910 Dodd, Mead printing of Maurice Maeterlinck’s classic The Life of the Bee, translated from the French by Alfred Sutro. Maeterlinck was the Belgian writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, and this influential meditation on bee life blends close observation of the hive with the author’s distinctive literary and philosophical voice.
This is the appealing original publisher’s green decorative cloth issue, with a raised floral pattern across both boards and a bright gilt title panel on the front and spine. It presents unusually well for a 1910 book: the binding is clean, the gilt remains strong, and the interior is crisp and readable.
Important edition note: the copyright page retains the original 1901 copyright and May 1901 publication statement, while this copy’s title page is dated 1910. It is accurately described as a 1910 Dodd, Mead printing—not a first edition and not the later Edward J. Detmold color-plate edition.
A handsome early copy for collectors of bees and beekeeping, natural history, entomology, Belgian literature, and Nobel Prize authors.
The exact book shown will be carefully boxed for shipment.
Condition:
Very Good+ antique condition. Exceptionally clean original pale-green ribbed cloth, decorated with a gilt title panel and blind-stamped floral design. Gilt lettering remains bright and highly readable. There is only light handling/rubbing at the board edges, corners, and spine ends; no major stains, tears, or structural damage are visible in the supplied photographs. No dust jacket.
Binding appears sound. Endpapers are clean with only very light age toning and a few tiny marks. Interior pages are clean and legible with mild, even age toning. The contents page is present, and the text runs through the photographed final p. 427. Please review all photographs for condition details.