Hawthorne, Nathaniel | A Poe favorite

The Passion of American Collectors: Property of Barbara and Ira Lipman

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Mosses from an Old Manse. New York and London: Wiley and Putnam, 1846

2 volumes. 12mo (187 x 128mm). Light stains to half-titles and title pages, some spotting but generally very clean text. Original pale printed wrappers; spotted, faded, front cover detached on part 1, usual paper splits to spines. Morocco pull off case.

First edition, first issue.

The collection was titled in honor of "The Old Manse," the house in Concord that Hawthorne and his wife lived for the first three years of their marriage. The Old Manse was built for Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather, the Rev. William Emerson. It was while living there that Emerson wrote Nature.

Upon the collection's publication, Hawthorne sent copies to several critics, including Margaret Fuller, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, and Edgar Allan Poe. Poe, in turn, wrote a lengthy review praising Hawthorne's writing, but also faulting him for associating with the Transcendentalists, who were, in effect, his neighbors.

The Blair copy

PROVENANCE

Jay Insley Blair (booklabel)

REFERENCE

BAL 7598; Clark A15