Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. William Taylor, London, 1719. First edition, 3 volumes, octavo, pp. IV, 364, VIII, 374, XVI, 270. Original full red morocco binding stamped in gilt, boards with gilt triple fillet border, spines divided in compartments by gilt raised bands, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt, board edges and turn-ins ruled and decoratively tooled in gilt, marbled endpapers, all leaf edges gilt. Engraved frontispiece portrait by Clarke and Pine. Original half-titles and publisher's advertisements present in all volumes. The work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe is often considered its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is presented as an autobiography of the title character.
