'Ninety-three' by Victor Hugo (Decorative Leather Gilt Binding), Circa 1930 📜🇫🇷⚜️

This is a top-shelf decorative antique volume of Victor Hugo's final novel, 'Ninety-three' (Quatrevingt-treize).

The book is an elegant reprint from the renowned publisher, Thomas Nelson and Sons, New York. It is distinguished by its highly aesthetic flexible leather binding featuring intricate gold gilt stamping.

This volume is classified as a desirable decorative heirloom, appealing to collectors who curate historical and literary classics that possess a refined physical presence. Its value is secured by the author's legacy and the superior quality of its early 20th-century decorative design.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨ The volume contains Hugo's last literary work, a historical novel that grapples with the impossible moral choices of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror in 1793. The plot focuses on the brutal counter-revolutionary uprising known as the War in the Vendée.

The narrative is structured into three parts: At Sea, The Corvette "Claymore", and Halmalo. The story centers on the struggle between the Royalist Marquis de Lantenac and the Republican Cimourdain, both of whom embody absolute, uncompromising ideals. The volume features a frontispiece illustration titled "THE CHILDREN WAKE" on page 402, a visual focus that underscores the novel's central theme of innocent lives destroyed by political extremism .

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️ Victor Hugo (1802-1885) remains one of the most significant figures in French literary and political history. He was a master of the Romantic movement and a passionate voice for justice and Republicanism.

Hugo's struggles included decades of political exile from France after opposing Napoleon III. He wrote 'Ninety-three' in 1874, shortly after the violent upheaval of the Paris Commune, a period of immense political disillusionment. This novel serves as the culmination of his artistic career, reflecting his deeply held philosophical conflict between revolution's brutal necessity and its inherent cost to humanity.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜 Hugo wrote 'Ninety-three' to explore the foundational conflict of the French Revolution, which was the defining political struggle of his lifetime. The year 1793, the focus of the novel, was the height of the Reign of Terror, marked by mass executions and the civil war in the Vendée.

The physical book, printed circa 1930 in New York, exists in a completely different context: the American Interwar period. Thomas Nelson's highly aesthetic, pocket-sized reprints provided an affordable means for the American middle class to possess European literary classics that could also serve as decorative accents in their homes. This volume is a cultural artifact of the global export market for literature, which made formal classics accessible and visually appealing during the Great Depression.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️ This volume is an essential acquisition for a curator of French literary history who values the philosophical weight of Hugo's work.

It is ideally suited for a collector who specializes in fine publisher's decorative bindings from the Thomas Nelson pocket-sized series. The buyer appreciates items that possess a classic literary pedigree with a verifiable, display-worthy aesthetic. This book belongs in a personal library that prioritizes visual elegance and canonical literary importance.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️ This decorative edition is approximately 95 years old, having survived the economic uncertainty of the Great Depression and the global conflicts of the 20th Century.

Its Bibliographical Scarcity is low as a later reprint, but its value is sustained entirely by its Aesthetic Premium. The book's market worth is justified by the integrity of the publisher’s design and the quality of the gilt-stamped flexible leather binding. Its condition and handsome presentation make it a desirable item for collectors who acquire books primarily for their refined visual appeal in a luxury setting.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨ The physical condition has been assessed directly from the provided high-resolution photography. The book is deemed to be in Very Good Antique Condition.

• Binding: Bound in flexible maroon leather with intact gilt stamping on the spine, featuring the decorative heart motif.

• Text Block: All page edges are gilded, which remains visible and bright.

• Text Integrity: The text block is tight and square; no loose pages were noted.

• Endpapers: Features the original patterned endpapers in red and tan .

• Wear: There is expected rubbing and wear to the leather spine ends and corners, consistent with an antique volume of this format.

• Inscription: A faint, non-detracting inventory stamp is visible on the rear leaf.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• Hugo's Final Work: 'Ninety-three' was the last novel Victor Hugo ever wrote, published 13 years before his death, making it the philosophical closing statement of his career.

• The Bridge of Ideals: The novel's main characters, the Royalist Lantenac and the Republican Cimourdain, represent the two irreconcilable halves of Hugo's own political philosophy.

• The Popular Series: Thomas Nelson and Sons produced this decorative edition as part of a highly successful series intended for the gift and travel market, with the flexible leather making the books easy to carry.

• Literary Dissection: The title, 'Ninety-three' (Quatrevingt-treize in French), refers to the pivotal year 1793 of the French Revolution, the ultimate year of political and social rupture.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Object Type: Decorative Antique Volume (Novel)

• Author: Victor Hugo

• Title: 'Ninety-three'

• Year/Period: Circa 1930 (Undated Publisher's Reprint)

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson and Sons

• Place of Origin: New York

• Format/Binding: Pocket-sized (16mo), Flexible Maroon Leather with Gilt Stamping

• Edition/Rarity: Later Printing, Decorative Gift Edition

• Illustration: Frontispiece Illustration ("The Children Wake," Page 402)

• Transcription of Markings (Rear Leaf): 326 (Stamped in blue/black ink)