Tolstoy, Leo (Count Lyof N. Tolstoi) - Anna Karenina - Thomas Y. Crowell & Co: New York, 1886 - First Edition / First Printing / Early or First Issue - It meets these known points: The end pages are floral, the publisher’s device is present on the title page, and the rear has five pages of ads with no ads for Russian novels. The page opposite of the title has been roughly excised otherwise it meets all known issue points.
“I've always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.”
The book is well worn with stains, rubbing, fraying, loose binding, tanning, etc. The boards are somewhat straight, albeit show distress. The binding is loose with cracking and a single page opposite of the title which has been excised in the past. A survivor copy which has seen better days but is rare in nearly any condition. This is the earliest known state/printing/edition of this title in English. It is worth mentioning to collectors that this work was issued with three different colors of cloth binding but there is no priority established between them, and if we are all honest, there probably never will be. Likely one of the most widely read works of Russian Lit. Basis for countless film, theater, opera, and multimedia adaptations. Genuinely scarce.