SIENKIEWICZ H. - Quo vadis. 1902. with illustrations by Piotr Stachowicz.

SIENKIEWICZ Henryk - Quo vadis. With twenty heliogravures according to paintings by Piotr Stachiewicz. Warsaw 1902, Nakł. Gebethner and Wolff. 4, pp. [4], 193, plates 20. dustjacket with preserved brochure cover, upper gilt trim.
Preserved essential elements of original binding in brown, pasted on binding. Bookplate "Death of Chilon" inserted twice, at pp. 68 and 172. Edges and spine slightly rubbed, some pages with local characteristic browning, otherwise good condition. Stamp and owner's signature. First edition of the novel with these illustrations.
The novel was written at the end of the 19th century, it was first printed in "Gazeta Polska" in 1895-1896, the first book edition was published in Krakow in 1896. The main theme of the novel is the clash of two worlds: pagan-Roman and Christian. "The work, in which Sienkiewicz presented a sweeping picture of Rome at the end of Nero's reign, brought him worldwide fame, documented by the award of the 1905 Nobel Prize, a plethora of translations (into more than 40 languages) and adaptations [...] and, finally, several films" (LPPE).