- 25
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- printed book
The Prince and the Pauper: A Tale for Young People of All Ages. By Mark Twain. Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1882
In 8s (8 3/8 x 6 1/2 in.; 213 x 165 mm). Facsimile holograph and wood-engraved frontispiece, Franklin Press imprint on verso of title-page, numerous text illustrations, chapter vignettes. Publisher's pictorial green cloth (BAL state A), stamped in gilt and black, plain endpapers and edges; very slightest rubbing to extremities. Half green morocco slipcase, chemise.
In 8s (8 3/8 x 6 1/2 in.; 213 x 165 mm). Facsimile holograph and wood-engraved frontispiece, Franklin Press imprint on verso of title-page, numerous text illustrations, chapter vignettes. Publisher's pictorial green cloth (BAL state A), stamped in gilt and black, plain endpapers and edges; very slightest rubbing to extremities. Half green morocco slipcase, chemise.
Provenance
Hezekiah Conant (armorial bookplate) — Nick Karanovich (sale, Sotheby’s New York, 19 June 2003, lot 51)
Literature
BAL 3402; Johnson, pp. 39–41; Lilly/Karanovich 92
Catalogue Note
A superb, virtually flawless copy of the first American edition, corrected state of text. The Prince and the Pauper—the first of Clemens's historical novels—exemplifies the author's later claim, "I have never written a book for boys; I write for grown-ups who have been boys." The story was inspired by Charlotte Yonge's Little Duke, which Clemens found in his sister-in-law's library at Quarry Farm.