Publication: Waltham Saint Lawrence, Berkshire, The Golden Cockerel Press, 1928.  

Formatting: 8vo, pp. [iv], 152, [ii].

Condition Report: Near Fine. This copy presents exceptionally well, bound in the publisher's original reddish-burgundy buckram which remains wonderfully tight and square. The spine bears bright, unoxidised gilt titling with no perceptible shelf-wear to the extremities. Its top edge gilt is highly lustrous, contrasting handsomely with the heavily deckled, uncut fore and bottom edges. Internally, the pages are clean and crisp, possessing a freshness that suggests the book has been rarely read. Most notably, the volume retains its scarce original salmon-red printed dust wrapper, which shows only minor fading and negligible handling wear, preserving the volume beautifully.  

Catalogue Note: This handsome volume is a limited edition of only 500 copies, of which 250 were reserved for the UK market. Sterne’s genre-defining travelogue is here brought to life with six masterful copper engravings by the French artist and engraver J. E. Laboureur.  

Printed on thick English hand-made paper, this edition represents a high point of early 20th-century private press craftsmanship. Finding a copy in such excellent preservation, particularly retaining its fragile, original printed dust wrapper, is increasingly scarce on the open market and makes for a significant addition to any collection of fine press literature or Sterniana.  

First published in 1768, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy is Laurence Sterne’s highly influential, thinly veiled autobiographical account of his own European travels. Abandoning the dry, classical objectivity of his contemporaries, Sterne’s narrator, the Reverend Mr. Yorick, leads the reader on an episodic, emotionally driven adventure full of amorous encounters, witty observations, and deeply felt human interactions. It is a defining work of 18th-century literature that forever altered the genre of travel writing.