Ralph Rashleigh — The Folio Society | James Tucker | 1977 | First Edition | Drawings by Nigel Lambourne | Fine in Slipcase

A fine first edition of the Folio Society's 1977 publication of Ralph Rashleigh by James Tucker — one of the most remarkable and singular works in Australian literary history, and a production of considerable distinction.

Written in the 1840s under the pseudonym Giacomo di Rosenberg, Tucker's semi-autobiographical account of convict life in colonial Australia was published in heavily edited form in 1929, and not issued in its complete and properly attributed form until 1952. The Folio Society edition, introduced and edited by the scholar Colin Roderick — who first identified Tucker as the true author — remains the finest and most collectible presentation of the text.

Bound in sage-green pictorial cloth, the boards printed with atmospheric Australian bush scenes in sepia, with gilt-lettered title and author name to spine and the Folio Society's gilt device to the lower board. Illustrated throughout with a frontispiece and fifteen full-page drawings by Nigel Lambourne, whose vigorous line work captures the harshness and drama of Tucker's narrative with considerable power. Endpaper maps complete the production. 341 pp.

Housed in the original Folio Society navy card slipcase, clean and firm.

This copy is in fine, first edition condition throughout — cloth bright and unmarked, pages clean and fresh, binding tight and square, slipcase sound. An excellent example of a title that rarely appears in this state.

A compelling piece for collectors of Australian history and literature, colonial history, or fine Folio Society editions of the 1970s.