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Mark Twain, 1874
Details
The Gilded Age
Mark Twain, 1874
CLEMENS, Samuel (“Mark Twain,” 1835-1910) and WARNER, Charles Dudley (1829-1900). The Gilded Age. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1874 [but 1873].
First English edition of Twain’s first novel, whose title came to embody the spirit of the period—rare at auction. It was published simultaneously with the first American edition, published in Hartford. The Gilded Age satirized the rampant political corruption of post-Civil War America so effectively that its title became applied to that historical period as a whole. The Hartford edition is much more common at auction; the present London edition is only recorded once at auction by RBH since the 1960s. Both the Hartford and London editions were ready in time for Christmas of 1873. This copy is from the library of Richard Fothergill, a British politician; ironically, he was prosecuted for misconduct in 1857. BAL 3359.
Three volumes, octavo (190 x 123mm). Half-titles, illustrations throughout (minor spotting). Original green publisher’s cloth stamped in black, spine gilt (bumped at extremities, few stains, front hinge of vol. 2 cracked). Provenance: Richard Fothergill, 1822-1903 (bookplate).
Mark Twain, 1874
CLEMENS, Samuel (“Mark Twain,” 1835-1910) and WARNER, Charles Dudley (1829-1900). The Gilded Age. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1874 [but 1873].
First English edition of Twain’s first novel, whose title came to embody the spirit of the period—rare at auction. It was published simultaneously with the first American edition, published in Hartford. The Gilded Age satirized the rampant political corruption of post-Civil War America so effectively that its title became applied to that historical period as a whole. The Hartford edition is much more common at auction; the present London edition is only recorded once at auction by RBH since the 1960s. Both the Hartford and London editions were ready in time for Christmas of 1873. This copy is from the library of Richard Fothergill, a British politician; ironically, he was prosecuted for misconduct in 1857. BAL 3359.
Three volumes, octavo (190 x 123mm). Half-titles, illustrations throughout (minor spotting). Original green publisher’s cloth stamped in black, spine gilt (bumped at extremities, few stains, front hinge of vol. 2 cracked). Provenance: Richard Fothergill, 1822-1903 (bookplate).
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Heather Weintraub
Specialist, Books, Manuscripts, & Archives