Antique 1887 REAL GRIT Hocking Victorian Book Ornate Decorative Gilded Cloth For Sale

This is the kind of antique book people buy before they have any idea what it is about—the electric cobalt-blue cloth, gleaming gilt lettering and dramatic black pictorial decoration make it nearly impossible to pass by.

Real Grit was written by Silas K. Hocking, F.R.H.S., the celebrated Victorian novelist and author of the million-selling Her Benny. First published in 1887, this stirring novel of adversity, courage, romance and perseverance embodies everything suggested by its wonderfully direct title: character tested under pressure and the strength to keep going when life turns difficult.

More than 135 years later, the title feels remarkably modern.

The original blue cloth binding is the star of this copy.

The front cover is elaborately decorated with:

• Brilliant gilt title lettering
• Rich black botanical ornamentation
• A pictorial scene of two figures meeting beside a wooded stream
• Fine architectural borders and corner flourishes
• Coordinating gilt and black decoration along the spine

Even the rear board is ornamented with delicate floral work. This was not merely a book intended to be read—it was designed as an attractive object to be displayed, gifted and treasured.

The saturated blue remains remarkably vivid, and the gilt still catches the light beautifully. It would look exceptional displayed face-out among antique books, Victorian objects, blue-and-white ceramics or other richly colored décor.

Published in London and New York by Frederick Warne & Co., the famous house later associated with some of the most beloved illustrated books in publishing history.

The title page is undated, a common practice in British publishing of this period. Real Grit was first issued in 1887, and the binding, typography, publisher’s device and list of Hocking’s earlier works place this copy in the late 1880s to very early 1890s, approximately 1887–1891.

Importantly, the title page does not carry the “Twentieth Thousand” or “Fifty-First Thousand” statements found in known later impressions. That makes this an especially appealing early issue, quite possibly close to the original 1887 publication. It is conservatively offered without an absolute first-edition guarantee, but it is unquestionably a genuine 19th-century copy—not a modern reproduction.

The printer’s statement reads:

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited
London & Bungay

The chapter titles alone promise classic Victorian drama:

• A Chance Meeting
• The Tennis Party
• Lost on the Moors
• A Confession of Love
• Clouds and Darkness
• Hopes and Fears
• Nearing the Bottom
• Misgivings
• Taken to Task

The original engraved frontispiece captures a wonderfully theatrical moment beside a rushing stream, captioned:

“Evidently Afraid of Moving.”

Hocking’s stories were written to entertain while exploring moral courage, hardship, class and personal redemption. Real Grit is an evocative survival from the great age of Victorian storytelling—when a novel was expected to provide adventure, romance, danger and a lesson in character before releasing its reader.

Silas Kitto Hocking (1850–1935) was a Cornish novelist, journalist and Methodist minister who became one of Britain’s most successful popular authors.

His breakthrough novel, Her Benny, told the story of impoverished children living on the streets of Liverpool and reportedly sold more than one million copies during his lifetime—an extraordinary achievement in the Victorian publishing world.

Hocking’s books appealed to an enormous audience because they combined gripping storytelling with sympathy for ordinary people confronting poverty, temptation and social injustice. Though less familiar today, he was once a household literary name whose novels occupied countless British family bookshelves.

A beautiful and highly displayable antique copy showing honest age consistent with a book approaching 140 years old.

The striking blue cloth remains vivid, with strong black decoration and attractive gilt lettering. There is rubbing and wear at the spine ends, corners and board edges, including some fraying and small areas of cloth loss. The page edges are age-toned, with scattered foxing, discoloration and other signs of age internally. The endpapers and hinge areas show age and stress, but the covers remain attached.

Please examine all photographs closely, as they form an important part of the condition description.

The visible wear does little to diminish the book’s impact—in fact, it gives the volume exactly the gently timeworn authenticity one hopes to find in a genuine Victorian book.

This is far more than an inexpensive reading copy. It offers an irresistible combination of:

• A bold and highly marketable title
• Exceptional cobalt-blue color
• Original gilt and pictorial cloth binding
• Engraved Victorian illustrations
• A celebrated million-selling author
• Genuine 19th-century publication
• Possible very early issue
• Outstanding decorative and display appeal

An eye-catching survivor from the golden age of ornate bookbinding—and a book whose title, REAL GRIT, still lands with a punch.