1898 Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. First Colour Illustrated Edition.

Title: Cranford
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell. With a preface by Anne Thackeray Ritchie.
Illustrated with forty coloured illustrations and sixty pen and ink sketches by Hugh Thomson.  
Publisher: Macmillan and Co Limited: London.
Published Date: First published 1891. Reprinted December 1891 and then numerous times up to 1898. This is the first reprint with colour illustrations, published in October 1898. 
Condition: Very good. 
 
Firmly bound in green cloth with a gilt title and gilt decoration to the upper front board and spine. The boards are in very good condition with only minor wear to the extremities. The spine has faded a little though the gilt decoration remains clear. The contents are lightly age toned with the occasional spot of foxing, though nothing significant. Ink inscription to the front free endpaper dated 1900. Beautifully illustrated, with the addition of colour which makes them particularly striking. Towards the rear of the book there is a crack to the hinge (at p.273) which reveals the glue which has browned. It has not affected the integrity of the binding, which is holding firm. [see image provided]