Oliver Hastings V.C., 1916 Escott Lynn, WWI Novel Illustrated by Harold Earnshaw
 
Book overview
 
Oliver Hastings V. C., a realistic story of the Great War, by Escott Lynn, illustrated with eight plates by Harold Earnshaw. First published 1916, this vintage wartime novel follows the experiences of Oliver Hastings during the First World War. This copy is a well-read example with wear consistent with its age, but complete in text and with all plates present, some partly loose.
 
Publication details
 
Publisher: W. & R. Chambers, Limited, London & Edinburgh, 1916.
Illustrations: Eight full page plates by Harold Earnshaw, including frontispiece. 
 
Exterior condition
 
Publisher’s original pictorial red cloth over boards, with illustrations and lettering on the front board and spine.
Cover solid, but with expected wear, fading to cloth, soft bumping and small splits at corners, and rubbing to spine and edges.
Front free endpaper missing. See photographs for details.
 
Interior condition
 
Pages broadly neat and clean for their age, lightly tanned, with occasional light foxing or small marks.
A few small rips at inner edges, text unaffected.
Several plates are partially loose or loose within the book, noted in the photos. All eight plates are present and accounted for.
Between many pages there are light cracks in the gutter; the text block remains secure.
All 404 pages of text are present, plus the eight plates. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the description.
 
Illustrations
 
Eight plates, as listed in the book, illustrated by Harold Earnshaw (The artist, Harold Earnshaw, was married to the renowned illustrator, Mabel Lucie Attwell, and often assisted her with her work, and produced many period illustrations). A few plates are loose or partially loose, noted above.
 
Significance & edition note
 
This edition was published in 1916 and is typically offered as the early or first book edition. A scan of the 1916 printing is available in public collections, confirming the imprint and plate list.
 
Measurements & pages
 
Size approx. 19.3 × 14.2 × 5.2 cm
Weight approx. 752 g
Pages: iv + 404, all present. Eight illustrated plates present.