Chapters from Some Memoirs 1894 First Edition – Anne Thackeray Ritchie
 
CHAPTERS FROM SOME MEMOIRS
By Anne Thackeray Ritchie
 
Publication Details
 
London: Macmillan and Co., 1894
Printer: R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh
Edition: First Edition
 
Physical Description
 
Octavo. Bound in the publisher’s original blue cloth over boards and spine, with gilt lettering to the spine. Coloured pastedowns and endpapers. 215 pages. No dust jacket (as issued).
 
About the Book
 
Chapters from Some Memoirs is a reflective and intimate collection of autobiographical essays by Anne Thackeray Ritchie, offering a thoughtful glimpse into her life, family, and literary surroundings. Written with warmth and restraint, the work includes recollections of her father, William Makepeace Thackeray, and his circle, including figures such as the illustrator John Leech.
 
Rather than a formal autobiography, the book presents a series of personal sketches, capturing the tone and intellectual atmosphere of Victorian literary life. As such, it holds strong appeal for collectors of Victorian memoirs, women’s writing, and Thackeray-related material.
 
About the Author
 
Anne Thackeray Ritchie (1837–1919) was a respected Victorian novelist, essayist, and biographer, and the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. She established a literary reputation independent of her father, contributing fiction, criticism, and memoirs to leading nineteenth-century periodicals and publishers.
 
Condition
 
Exterior
The original cloth binding remains intact and robust. Wear is present, commensurate with age, including bumping and small rips to the corners, patches of fading and rubbing, edge wear, light surface marks and scratches, and a gentle lean to the spine. Overall, a sound and honest example of an over 130-year-old cloth-bound volume.
 
Interior
Pages are lightly tanned, as expected. The text block is overall neat and clean for its age, and predominantly uncreased. There are the very occasional small marks, light staining to pages 22–23, occasional light creases, and small folds at some page edges. The edges are uneven and roughly cut, consistent with nineteenth-century production and likely trimmed by hand.
 
There are a few very small edge rips and minor inner-margin rips to several pages, none affecting the text. A small amount of pencil appears on the half-title page only; no further pen or pencil markings are present. There are light cracks in the gutter between the pastedowns and free endpapers, and between a handful of pages, but all pages remain secure with no loose or missing leaves.
 
Completeness
 
Complete with all 215 pages present and accounted for. No missing or detached pages.
 
Dimensions & Weight
 
Approx. 21 × 14 × 3 cm
Weight: c. 510 g
 
Rarity & Collectability
 
This title is uncommon in first edition, particularly in original cloth and complete condition. While not exceedingly rare, it is increasingly scarce in sound, honest copies and is sought after by collectors of Victorian memoirs, women writers, and Thackeray-related material.
 
Collector’s Summary
 
A solid, attractive first edition of Anne Thackeray Ritchie’s reflective Victorian memoir, offering valuable personal insight into one of the great literary families of the nineteenth century. A genuine antiquarian copy with expected age wear, but complete, secure, and well-preserved, and an excellent addition to a collection of Victorian literature or literary biography.