Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by De Quincey, Thomas; Introduction by William Bolitho; Twelve Lithographs drawn on stone by Zhenya Gay - 1930

Oxford: Printed for the Limited Editions Club at the Shakespeare Head Press, 1930. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Folio (10 c 13.5 inches). 77 pp. Limited to 1520 copies, this being No. 278. Signed by the publisher B.H. Newdigate and by the illustrator Zhenya Gay. Bound in canvas-backed Cockerell marbled paper boards, spine titled in gilt. Includes 12 stunning lithographs by Zhenya Gay. the book is in near fine condition. The slipcase is in very good condition with some light rubbing and some edge wear, mainly at spine tips. This is De Quincey’s classic autobiographical account about his addiction to laudanum (opium and alcohol) and the effect it had on his life. The Confessions was the first major work De Quincey published and the one which won him fame almost overnight. The book was originally published anonymously in September and October of 1821 in the London Magazine. It was first released in book form in 1822 and again in a revised edition in 1856.