Mid-Century

War and Peace — Leo Tolstoy, Macmillan & Co. / Oxford University Press (1943 reprint)

Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace in the authoritative Maude translation — Macmillan & Oxford University Press, 1943 reprint of the 1942 first edition. Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude, personally endorsed by Tolstoy. Contains a fold-out map of Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812. Bears a D. A. McLean, Bookseller, Belfast rubber stamp.

Year
1943 · First issued in this edition 1942; this copy 1943 reprint (2nd printing)
Era
Mid-Century
Maker
Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828–1910); translated by Louise Maude & Aylmer Maude; published by Macmillan & Co. Ltd and Oxford University Press; printed by R. & R. Clark, Ltd., Edinburgh
Origin
England
Materials
Hardback, two-tone red boards with cream cloth spine, gilt double-headed eagle on front cover, wartime thin paper throughout, fold-out map
Condition
Excellent
Literature

Bibliographic Details

Notable Features

  • Fold-out map: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812 — shows advance and retreat routes, key battle sites (Borodino, Smolensk, Beresina, Moscow)
  • D. A. McLean, Bookseller, 11 Howard St., Belfast — rubber stamp on last page; provenance marker
  • Two-tone binding: red boards + cream cloth spine, gilt double-headed Russian Imperial eagle on front cover
  • Pages are notably thin and tissue-like throughout (wartime paper economy printing)
  • Tissue repair on title page imprint section only

Fun Facts

  1. The Maude translation is so highly regarded that Tolstoy personally approved it — extraordinarily rare for any translation of a major literary work.
  2. The double-headed eagle embossed on the front cover is the Russian Imperial symbol of the Romanov dynasty.
  3. Thomas Mann compared Tolstoy to Homer.
  4. The D. A. McLean bookseller's stamp places this copy in Belfast at some point during its 80-year journey.

Acquisition

Condition Notes

Excellent overall. Pages thin and tissue-like (wartime paper economy). Tissue repair on title page imprint area only. No broken spine, no foxing. Red boards clean. Cream cloth spine with gilt lettering in good order.