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THOREAU, Henry David (1817-1862). Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.
8o. 8-page publisher's advertisement at end dated April 1854 (no priority). Vignette of Thoreau's hut on title, map of Walden pond. Original brown cloth, stamped in blind, spine gilt-lettered (skilfully rebacked preserving original backstrip); quarter morocco folding case. Provenance: Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911), New England man of letters (presentation inscription from the author on front free endpaper, and Higginson's pencil annotations in some margins and endleaves).
FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, one of 2,000 copies. AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY THOREAU TO THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON on the front free endpaper: "T.W. Higginson with the regards of H.D.T." Higginson was a prolific author and editor, most known perhaps for encouraging Emily Dickinson and editing her poetry. He wrote several times on his friend Thoreau and in 1964 and 1865 reviewed The Maine Woods and Cape Cod for the Atlantic Monthly. During the 1850s Higginson was one of the leaders of the radical abolition movement and it is possibly in this context that he was the recipient of this presentation copy of Walden. Apart from the numerous underlinings, marginal marks and notations, Higginson has indexed some notable passages on the rear pastedown.
PRESENTATION COPIES OF THOREAU'S MASTERPIECE ARE EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE: American Book Prices Current records only one other presentation copy in the past 25 years (1979). Borst A2.1a; BAL 20106; American 63; Johnson High Spots 72.
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FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, one of 2,000 copies. AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY THOREAU TO THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON on the front free endpaper: "T.W. Higginson with the regards of H.D.T." Higginson was a prolific author and editor, most known perhaps for encouraging Emily Dickinson and editing her poetry. He wrote several times on his friend Thoreau and in 1964 and 1865 reviewed The Maine Woods and Cape Cod for the Atlantic Monthly. During the 1850s Higginson was one of the leaders of the radical abolition movement and it is possibly in this context that he was the recipient of this presentation copy of Walden. Apart from the numerous underlinings, marginal marks and notations, Higginson has indexed some notable passages on the rear pastedown.
PRESENTATION COPIES OF THOREAU'S MASTERPIECE ARE EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE: American Book Prices Current records only one other presentation copy in the past 25 years (1979). Borst A2.1a; BAL 20106; American 63; Johnson High Spots 72.