Last of the Incas Gustave Aimard Ward Lock 1880s Victorian 1893 Prize Book

About this book

The Last of the Incas

By Gustave Aimard

Ward, Lock & Co., London

Undated late-Victorian edition, likely circa 1880s

Decorative red cloth hardcover

317 pages

A Victorian adventure novel set in Patagonia. The story follows scouts, Spanish settlers, and Indigenous forces during a planned attack on the settlement of Carmen.

This copy was issued as part of The Boy’s Own Story Books of Indian Tales of Daring and Adventure. The red pictorial cloth binding shows weapons, arrows, feathers, and other period designs, with a gilt title panel.

A handwritten inscription states that the book was awarded for “General Proficiency” in December 1893. The recipient’s surname is difficult to read. This gives the copy a firm date before the end of 1893.

This is not the 1862 first English edition. The book has no printed publication date. Bibliographic records support dating this Ward, Lock & Co. issue to the 1880s.

Best fit for collectors of Victorian adventure fiction, decorative bindings, school-prize books, Gustave Aimard, and nineteenth-century children’s literature.

Condition: Acceptable antique condition. No dust jacket. Red pictorial cloth boards show heavy rubbing, fading, stains, pale marks, edge wear, and worn corners. Spine ends are frayed. Gilt title panels remain visible. Page edges are heavily age-toned and soiled. Interior pages show age toning, scattered foxing, spots, and handling wear. A small gap between page sections is visible at the top edge. A handwritten award inscription dated December 1893 appears on a front blank page. See photos for the exact condition.