Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
With one hundred and seventy-four illustrations.
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885 Stock Code: 143854
An exceptionally nice copy
First US edition of one of the great classics of both American and of children's literature, here an exceptionally nice copy in the original cloth, fresh and unrestored.This copy has the relevant first printing points: at p. 9 the misprint "Decided", at p. 13 the erroneous page reference "88", and at p. 57 "with the was". These are the only points to distinguish between the first two printings; other textual variants between copies are due to the use of multiple plates and have no relevance for priority. This copy has the first state frontispiece with the table cloth visible and unsigned on the finished edge of the bust, the second state cancel title leaf (as always save for advance copies), and pages 283/284 with the later state emended illustration of Uncle Silas (as always with cloth copies). These points do not have bearing on priority of issue, nor does the binding (other copies being bound in leather, and in blue cloth), with the whole first printing issued on the same day in February 1885. The UK edition was published first, in December 1884.
Description
Square octavo. Original green pictorial cloth blocked in black and gilt, titles to spine and front cover in gold and black. Housed in a custom green cloth chemise and slipcase (a little dented at head), green morocco label to spine lettered in gilt.
Illustrations
Photogravure frontispiece of Karl Gerhardt's portrait bust of Clemens, 173 text illustrations after E. W. Kemble.
Condition
Light rubbing to spine tips and corners, but in all an exceptionally fresh copy, contents clean.
Bibliography
BAL 3415; Grolier, 100 American, 87; Johnson, pp. 43-50; Kevin MacDonnell, "Huck Finn among the Issue-Mongers," Firsts; The Book Collector's Magazine, Volume 8, Number 9 (September 1998), pp. 28-35.
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