1907 1st Edition – DISCOBOL By the Rev. Compton Reade Hardback EXTREMELY RARE and Antiquarian Book and historical novel. A Tale of Love and Faith. With a BEAUTIFUL PICTORIAL CLOTH BINDING. 
 
Published by Robert Scott, 7, Paternoster Row, London in 1907 and printed by Morrison And Gibb Limited, Edinburgh. 
 
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SCARCE BOOK, AND, AT THE TIME OF LISTING, I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND ANOTHER COPY OF IT FOR SALE ONLINE OR A DIGITAL COPY.
 
The Rev. Compton Reade was a British author who was active in the 19th century. He was born in 1834 in London and died in 1909. He was best known for his historical novels, many of which were set in the Tudor and Elizabethan eras. He published several volumes of family history, poetry, and novels. Some of his most popular works include "The House of Cornewall " (1908), "Broken Threads" (1897), and "The After Taste" (1900). HOWEVER, THIS NOVEL, except for a couple of historical references online, APPEARS TO BE an UNKNOWN WORK BY HIM, and so is historically value.
 
This does not include a dust jacket. 
 
This book has a stunning, decorated cloth binding. It is bound in the publisher’s original blue cloth, over boards. There are art nouveau style decorations and illustrations on the front board and spine, together with lettering. The cover is intact, robust, and in a very good condition for its age, being nearly 120 years old. There is only light wear, which includes small or light marks, light discolouration, very soft bumping to the corners, a very gentle lean, and light wear at the edges. Please see the photographs provided for further reference. 
 
Inside, the pages are lightly tanned, thick and crisp. There is very light foxing throughout but, besides this, the pages are in an overall very neat state, and predominantly uncreased. There are only small creases on a few pages. Most of the pages are without rips and there is just an extremely small rip on the edge of page 33 and overleaf, which does not affect the text (see photo), and a small rip towards the top, near the inner edge of front pastedown. On the front pastedown there are some remnants of pencil, but there are no further pen or pencil marks written inside this book. Between a handful of pages are light cracks in the gutter, However, the pages are all secure. All 176 pages of the text are present, plus 8 pages at the rear which contain the publisher’s catalogue. 
 
Please study the photos carefully as to the condition of this book, as they do form part of the description. 
 
This measures approximately 19.1 cm by 12.8 cm and 3.1 cm wide. It weighs approximately 316 grams. 
 
Thank you for looking.