H. Rider Haggard A Farmer's Year 1899 First Edition Antique Illustrated Hardcover

A Farmer's Year: Being His Commonplace Book for 1898
H. Rider Haggard | Longmans, Green & Co. | 1899 | First Edition

An attractive first-edition copy of A Farmer's Year by H. Rider Haggard, best known for his adventure novels King Solomon's Mines and She. Published in 1899, this less frequently encountered work offers a fascinating account of English agricultural life at the close of the Victorian era.

Drawing upon his experiences farming in Norfolk, Haggard records the practical challenges, seasonal rhythms, and economic realities of running an English farm during 1898. His observations encompass crops, livestock, labor, weather, and rural economics, combining practical agricultural knowledge with the engaging prose of an accomplished Victorian author.

The book retains its original blue cloth binding with decorative gilt lettering and ornamentation.

Publication Details

• Author: H. Rider Haggard
• Full Title: A Farmer's Year: Being His Commonplace Book for 1898
• Publisher: Longmans, Green & Co., London, New York, and Bombay
• Publication Date: 1899
• Edition: First Edition; impression not definitively established
• Binding: Original gilt-decorated blue cloth hardcover
• Pagination: 489 pages, plus 32 numbered pages of publisher's advertisements
• Illustrations: Two maps and 36 illustrations by G. Leon Little
• Publisher's Catalogue: September 1898, identified by the printer's code “50,000–9/98”

Condition

Good antique condition, with wear consistent with a book published more than 125 years ago.

The original blue cloth covers retain their decorative gilt lettering and ornamentation, with rubbing and wear to the cloth, particularly along the edges and corners. The binding remains secure.

Interior pages show age-related toning and scattered foxing, particularly on the preliminary pages and endpapers. A previous owner's handwritten inscription appears near the front of the book. Two leaves remain unopened, retaining their original folded edges.

The text is complete through page 489, and the original 32-page publisher's advertising catalogue remains intact.

The September 1898 catalogue corresponds to bibliographic descriptions of the first edition. Although the book has the characteristics of an early first-edition copy, the precise impression has not been conclusively established.

A desirable addition to a collection of H. Rider Haggard, Victorian literature, English agricultural history, or antiquarian books.

Please review all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description and provide the best representation of this antique book's condition.