The Alchemist

London: Printed for William Darton Jun, 1818. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. Presumed first edition of this uncommon book. English author Mary Hughes Robson wrote many books geared towards the moral development of young ladies, including this one. She moved to Philadelphia and opened a school for girls with the help of philanthropist John Vaughan. She wrote several pamphlets for the Christian Tract Society and became a lifelong member. Bound in green and dark green pastepaper over dark brown leather spine with title in gilt. Heavy rubbing to boards, chipping to paper, and heavy wear to corners and edges of boards. Dampstaining to rear board and evidence of dampstaining to several pages. Top inch of title page is no longer present, with the word "The" removed. Pen and watercolor markings to pastedowns and verso of frontispiece. Occasional spots of foxing and soiling, but the text pages remain clean and bright overall. Lacks 2 pages of ads and both free endpapers. 206 pages plus 8 pages of publisher's ads. LIT/080423.