Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

WALLACE, Lew.

Item Number: 129102

New York : Harper & Brothers, 1902.

Signed limited edition of Wallace’s classic work. Rare signed edition de Luxe limited to 350 sets of which this is set number 19. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full vellum and stamped with two colors of gold. Volume one is signed by the author, “Very truly yours, Lew Wallace June 10, 1892.” Illustrated with drawings by William Martin John on the margins and with photogravure tissue guarded plates from the original engravings including frontispieces in both volumes. Additionally illustrated with facsimiles of author’s manuscript. Laid in original card to the subscribers to the Edition de Luxe. In near fine condition, bookplate.

"In America, 300,000 copies were sold in the first ten years after publication, making it one of the highest-ranking bestsellers of the nineteenth century" (Grolier). It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions. Ben-Hur remained at the top of the US all-time bestseller list until the publication of Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936). The 1959 MGM film adaptation of Ben-Hur was seen by tens of millions and won 11 Academy Awards in 1960, after which the book's sales increased and it surpassed Gone with the Wind. It was blessed by Pope Leo XIII, the first novel ever to receive such praise. The success of the novel and its stage and film adaptations also helped it to become a popular cultural icon that was used to promote numerous commercial products.