Mark Twain First Edition
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Exceptionally rare first English edition of Mark Twain's The Gilded Age
TWAIN, Mark and Charles Dudley Warner. [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Gilded Age: A Novel.
London: George Routledge and Sons, 1874.
First English edition of the rarest of Mark Twain's works: the only novel he wrote with a collaborator and the book that gave the era its name in history. Octavo, three volumes, original publishers green cloth, gilt titles to the spine, illustrated. The only multi-volume work Clemens produced, except for the two-volume Tramp Abroad (London, 1880), the first English edition of The Gilded Age is the rarest of Mark Twain's major works and the most difficult to obtain. Its rarity is due largely to its format, three volume sets were quite expensive and were produced almost solely for circulating libraries during the Reconstruction era, and so, the books were vigorously read by many readers, generally rebound, and most were pulped in paper drives during the Second World War. In 1873, Samuel Clemens had written only four other major books - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain's (Burlesque) Autobiography, and Roughing It. A relatively unknown American author in London at the time, the English edition would have necessarily been small, no more than a few hundred. From the library of noted collector Frederic R. Kirkland. Kirkland formed a well-known collection of Americana and American and British literature, much of which was sold in 1962. In ...
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 133018
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RARE AND SIGNIFICANT FIRST EDITION, ASSOCIATION COPY OF MARK TWAIN'S A TRAMP ABROAD; INSCRIBED BY HIM TO HIS SECRETARY
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
A Tramp Abroad.
Hartford, Conn: American Publishing Company, 1880.
First edition of Twain's classic fictionalized account of his walking tour of central and southern Europe, inscribed by him to his secretary. Octavo, original publisher's pictorial gilt-stamped brown cloth, with 328 illustrations by Walter Francis Brown, True Williams, W.W. Denslow, and with four 'pictures made by the author of this book, without outside help', engraved portrait of Twain by J.A.J. Wilcox [BAL state B, no priority], engraved frontispiece captioned ''Titian's Moses'' [BAL's second state], profusion of illustrations; advertisement for The Innocents Abroad on p. 632. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front pastedown, "Truly yours, Mark Twain." With an additional inscription below, also in Twain's hand: "The property of Miss I.V. Lyon." The recipient, Isabel Van Kleek Lyons played a pivotal role in Twain's later years, serving as his private secretary, household manager, and confidante after the death of his wife, Olivia, in 1904. Twain was deeply reliant on Lyons, once remarking, "Miss Lyon runs Clara, and Jean, and me, and the servants, and the housekeeping, and the house building, and the secretary work, and remains as extraordinarily as competent as ever." Lyons, for her part, revered Twain, referring to him as "the King" in her diary, while Twain ...
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 151014
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"It's the best book we've had... There was nothing before. There has been nothing since": FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF MARK TWAIN'S ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN; IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s masterpiece, a justifiable contender for the title of "the Great American Novel" and arguably "the most praised and most condemned 19th-century American work of fiction" (Legacies of Genius, 47). Octavo, original publisher’s gilt and black stamped pictorial green cloth, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Contains all of the agreed upon first issue points for the clothbound book: page 9 with “Decided” remaining uncorrected (to “Decides”); page 13, illustration captioned “Him and another Man” listed as on page 88; page 57, 11th line from bottom reads “with the was,” instead of “with the saw." Other points of bibliographical interest included in this copy are the frontispiece portrait in first state with the cloth table cover under the bust, bearing the Heliotype Printing Co. imprint; copyright page dated 1884; page 143 with “l” missing from “Col.” at top of illustration and with broken “b” in “body” on line seven; page 155 with a larger final “5”; page 161, no signature mark “11”. As to issue points resulting from damaged plates (e.g. the dropped “5” on p 155), MacDonnell concludes, “they are of no significance in determining the sequence of the printing of the sheets. All of the...
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 149190
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ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE ISSUE: FIRST EDITION, EARLIEST POSSIBLE ISSUE OF MARK TWAIN'S ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN; IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, earliest possible issue confirmed by a contemporary 1884 gift inscription of Mark Twain’s masterpiece, a justifiable contender for the title of "the Great American Novel" and arguably "the most praised and most condemned 19th-century American work of fiction" (Legacies of Genius, 47). Octavo, original publisher’s gilt and black stamped pictorial green cloth, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Contains all of the agreed upon first issue points for the clothbound book: page 9 with “Decided” remaining uncorrected (to “Decides”); page 13, illustration captioned “Him and another Man” listed as on page 88; page 57, 11th line from bottom reads “with the was,” instead of “with the saw." Other points of bibliographical interest included in this copy are the frontispiece portrait in first state with the cloth table cover under the bust, bearing the Heliotype Printing Co. imprint; copyright page dated 1884; page 143 with “l” missing from “Col.” at top of illustration and with broken “b” in “body” on line seven; page 155 with a larger final “5”; page 161, no signature mark “11”. As to issue points resulting from damaged plates (e.g. the dropped “5” on p 155), MacDonnell concludes, “they are of no significance in dete...
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 149950
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Rare First Edition, First Printing of Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches.
New York: C.H. Webb, 1867.
First edition, first printing of the author's rare first book. Octavo, original cloth, first issue lacking the leaf of ads facing the title page but with unbroken type on pages 21, 66 and 198. In very good condition with light wear to the extremities. A sharp example.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 125145
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FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, MARK TWAIN'S THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER; IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford, Conn: The American Publishing Company, 1876.
First edition, second issue of one of the great masterpieces of American literature and Twain's best-selling book. Octavo, original blue cloth elaborately stamped in gilt, illustrated with frontispiece and numerous in-text illustrations by True Williams and others. Second issue with the half-title and frontispiece printed on the same leaf. The first and second printings were only 5,000 copies each. (MacDonnell; BAL 3369). In near fine condition. With the gilt and black-stamping exceptionally well preserved. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 149830
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FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING OF MARK TWAIN'S ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN; FROM THE LIBRARY OF WILLIAM SAFIRE
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full dark green morocco with morocco spine label lettered in gilt, raised bands to the spine, mar top edge gilt, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. With all of the agreed upon first issue points for the clothbound book: page 9 with “Decided” remaining uncorrected (to “Decides”); page 13, illustration captioned “Him and another Man” listed as on page 88; page 57, 11th line from bottom reads “with the was,” instead of “with the saw”. Other points of bibliographical interest included in this copy are the frontispiece portrait with the tablecloth under the bust, bearing the Heliotype Printing Co. imprint; copyright page dated 1885; page 143 with “l” missing from “Col.” at top of illustration and with broken “b” in “body” on line seven; page 155 with the final “5” missing; page 161, no signature mark “11”. As to issue points resulting from damaged plates (e.g. the dropped “5” on p 155), MacDonnell concludes, “they are of no significance in determining the sequence of the printing of the sheets. All of these occur at random in relation to each other within copies of the first printing, a strong indicator of the use of multiple plates, and possibly mixe...
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 127896
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Rare Salesman Dummy of Mark Twain's First Edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
MARK TWAIN) CLEMENS, Samuel L.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain's masterpiece, Salesman's Dummy Issue. Octavo, original publisher's decorated green cloth gilt to the spine and front panel. With frontispiece portrait of Twain inserted at front (with the imprint of the Heliotype Printing Co., but the cloth is not visible). This book was specially printed to have a selection of text pages, so it is common for the recto of one page to have a certain page number, and the page number on the verso to jump by several pages. Because of this, this book only has some of the issue points that a copy of Huckleberry Finn would have: the title-leaf is integral, with the "1884" copyright date (this is the true first state, and it only appeared in the salesman's dummy); page [13] lists "Him and Another Man" as being on page 88 (first state); "Huck Decided" on page [9] (first state). The Silas Phelps illustration on page 283 has a straight fly, but the leaf is integral with page 287 printed on the verso. Page 57 was not printed for this edition. Two samples of the spine were affixed onto the front pastedown - one is missing, the other, the spine for the sheep binding, is present. Publisher's full green cloth, boards decoratively stamped in gilt and black (the front board is identical to the design of the cloth version, the rear board...
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 62040
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The Innocents Abroad; Signed by Mark Twain
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Innocents Abroad, Or The New Pilgrims’ Progress.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1905.
Uniform edition of the author’s second book, one of the best-selling travel books of all-time. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, engraved frontispiece and photographic portrait with facsimile signature. Signed by the author "Truly yours Mark Twain" to the front pastedown. In very good condition, name to the front free endpaper. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 144202
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“I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing": First Edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens] .
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain's masterpiece, with the first state of the frontispiece portrait. Octavo, original publisher's decorated green cloth gilt to the spine and front panel. With frontispiece portrait of Twain inserted at front (with the imprint of the Heliotype Printing Co., but the cloth is not visible). This example exhibits the following issue points: title leaf is conjugate. Copyright notice dated 1884; the illustration captioned "Him and another Man" [p.13] listed as p.88 (first state); 11th line from bottom of p.57 reads "...with the was..." (first state); p. 283 is an integral leaf with the corrected engraving; the final 5 in the numeration of page 155 is larger than the first and slightly below the others; leaf 23-8 is present as a blank; first state of the frontispiece portrait (imprint of Heliotype with tablecloth visible). In near fine condition with light toning to the extremities. A very bright example.
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 85975
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FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, MARK TWAIN'S THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876.
First edition, first printing, mixed state of the apotheosis of American boyhood. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over cloth, gilt topstain. In near fine condition with half-title and frontispiece on the same leaf, with 1875 on the copyright page and 1876 on the title page, and with the 10-point type to the word "THE" on the half-title page, four page publishers advertisements at end. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell chemise and box. An exceptional example.
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 119453
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“I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing": First Edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain's masterpiece, photogravure plate of a portrait bust of Clemens by Karl Gerhardt, title-leaf a cancel with copyright notice dated 1884; illustrated captioned "Him and another Man" listed on page 88 in contents; eleventh line from bottom of page 57 reads "with the was";"5" final five on page 155 is slightly larger; page 283/284 on a stub, without additional final blank leaf, In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities. Housed in custom chemise and full morocco clamshell box. A very nice example.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 100058
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FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF MARK TWAIN'S ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s masterpiece with all of the agreed upon first issue points and including the extraordinary "bulging fly" illustration. Octavo, bound in contemporary three quarter brown morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, patterned endpapers, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Copies of Huckleberry Finn were assembled haphazardly by the printer and there has yet to be agreement among bibliographers as to the priority of many points. This copy has all of the commonly identified first state points, including the rare "curved fly" illustration, found only in prospectuses and a small number of publisher's leather-bound copies. In the mischievous tradition of graffitti, he made "what was originally a pleasant scene... into a flagrant case of indecent exposure" (Kaplan 263). The sabotage was discovered while the book was at press and the offending plate was replaced, the corrected plate being slightly altered. BAL 3415. McBride, 93. Grolier American 100: 87. MacDonnell, 31. Page 9 with “Decided” remaining uncorrected (to “Decides”); page 13, illustration captioned “Him and another Man” listed as on page 88; page 57, 11th line from bottom reads “with the was,” instead of “with the saw.” Other points of bibliographic...
Price: $6,200.00 Item Number: 150973
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"WE WENT SLIPPING SILENTLY ALONG, BETWEEN THE GREEN AND FRAGRANT BANKS, WITH A SENSE OF PLEASURE AND CONTENTMENT THAT GREW AND GREW": FIRST EDITION OF MARK TWAIN'S A TRAMP ABROAD
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
A Tramp Abroad.
Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company, 1880.
First edition, first state of Twain's classic fictionalized account of his walking tour of central and southern Europe. Octavo, original publisher's pictorial gilt-stamped brown cloth, with 328 illustrations by Walter Francis Brown, True Williams, W.W. Denslow, and with four 'pictures made by the author of this book, without outside help' with the first state frontispiece captioned “Moses” and state A of the text-block. BAL 3386. In fine condition. Small bookplate and ownership name. Housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional example of this American classic, easily the nicest we have seen.
Price: $5,000.00 Item Number: 136080
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The Royal Edition of The Writings of Mark Twain
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel Clemens].
The Writings of Mark Twain.
Hartford, Connecticut: The American Publishing Company, 1899-1907.
The Royal edition of the writings of Mark Twain. Octavo, 21 volumes of the original 25 bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco over marbled boards for Brentano's with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, illustrated with many full-page illustrations, including etchings, photogravures, and engravings, with numerous frontispiece portraits of Twain. One of an unstated number of copies of the Royal edition, this is number 287. In near fine condition.
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 138944
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“You cannot surprise an individual more than twice with the same marvel": First Edition, first state of Mark Twain’s Life On The Mississippi in the publisher's original full sheep
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Life On The Mississippi.
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883.
First American edition, first state of this provocative portrait of the great Mississippi River with tailpiece of Twain in flames on p. 441 and “The St. Louis Hotel” caption on p. 443. Octavo, original publisher's deluxe full sheep with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated. In very good condition, rebacked. Uncommon.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 142314
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First edition, first issue of Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Mark Twain’s Sketches, New and Old.
Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, 1875.
First edition, first issue of Twain's classic collection of short stories with the footnote on page 119 repeated on page 120 and the erratum inserted on page 299 denying Mark Twain's authorship of the 11-line skit From Hospital Days (BAL 3364). Octavo, original publisher's blue cloth elaborately stamped in gilt, illustrated with frontispiece and numerous in-text illustrations by True Williams. In near fine condition. A very sharp example.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 150673
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"THE MOST PRAISED AND MOST CONDEMNED 19TH-CENTURY AMERICAN WORK OF FICTION": FIRST ENGLISH EDITION OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, PRECEDING THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION
MARK TWAIN; [SAMUEL L. CLEMENS],.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
London: Chatto & Windus, 1884.
First English edition, preceding the first American edition, of "the most praised and most condemned 19th-century American work of fiction" (Legacies of Genius). Octavo, original decorative red cloth stamped in black and lettered in gilt, patterned endpapers, illustrated from 174 drawings by E. W. Kemble. Binding was originally in BAL's state "B", with the gatherings secured with wire staples; this copy has been recased, presumably in the original cloth with the wire staples removed and replaced with the more conventional thread. Additionally, cloth has been expertly restored, especially at the spine tips and corners, with some red bleeding to the top corner of the front pastedown. BAL states priority between the two binding states unknown. Ads at rear dated October 1884. BAL 3414. The English edition of Huckleberry Finn preceded the American by a few months and was made from sheets sent by American edition publisher Webster. In very good condition.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 146372
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First edition of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad
TWAIN, Mark .
The Innocents Abroad, Or The New Pilgrims’ Progress.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1869.
First edition, third state of the author's second book with "The History of the Bible advertisement on page 654. BAL 3316. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, with two hundred and thirty-four illustrations. From the library of Tiffany Thayer with his bookplate to the pastedown. American actor Tiffany Ellsworth Thayer wrote several novels, including the bestseller Thirteen Women. In a profile in Twentieth Century Authors, Thayer was described as "an atheist, an anarchist – in philosophy a Pyrrhonean – and regrets the legitimacy of his birth." In 1931, he founded the Fortean Society with Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, Alexander Woollcott and many of New York's literati such as Dorothy Parker. In very good condition.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 127837
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"One of the Masterpieces of American literature": Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford: The American Publishing Company, 1880.
Early printing of the best-selling of Twain's works during his lifetime, a cornerstone of American literature. Octavo, original publisher's royal blue cloth decorated in gilt and black, illustrated with frontispiece and numerous in-text illustrations. In very good condition with rubbing to the spine tips and extremities. A sharp example.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 149237
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"one of the Masterpieces of American literature": Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford: The American Publishing Company, 1899.
Early reissue of the first edition of the best-selling of Twain's works during his lifetime, a cornerstone of American literature, formatted and bound exactly as the first printing of 1876. Octavo, original publisher's royal blue cloth decorated in gilt and black, illustrated with frontispiece and numerous in-text illustrations. In near fine condition. A very sharp example.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 152167
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First edition of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer Abroad
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Tom Sawyer Abroad by Huck Finn.
New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1894.
First edition, first issue of the first sequel to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn with 1894 on both the title page and copyright page and the correct binding state 'A' with 5 5/8" between Twain and Webster on spine. BAL 3440. Octavo, original pictorial cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, with illustrations by Dan Beard, four pages of advertisements. In fine condition. An exceptional example.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 150789
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“I AM NOT GIVEN TO EXAGGERATION, AND WHEN I SAY A THING I MEAN IT”: FIRST EDITION OF MARK TWAIN'S ROUGHING IT; from the library of American journalist William Safire
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Roughing It.
Hartford, Connecticut: American Publishing Company, 1872.
First edition, mixed state of Twain's first semi-autobiographical work of travel literature, essentially a prequel to The Innocents Abroad, lacking the word 'he' on page 242 but with the advert present on page 592 (BAL 3337). Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, fully illustrated by eminent artists with wood engravings throughout. From the library of William Safire with his bookplate to the pastedown. William Safire was an important American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and Spiro Agnew. He authored several political columns in addition to his weekly column “On Language” in The New York Times Magazine from 1979 until the month of his death and authored two books on grammar and linguistics: The New Language of Politics (1968) and what Zimmer called Safire’s “magnum opus,” Safire’s Political Dictionary. Safire later served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1995 to 2004 and in 2006 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. In v...
Price: $1,200.00 Item Number: 127994
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“Learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity": First Edition, first issue of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Prince and the Pauper. A Tale For Young People of All Ages.
James R. Osgood and Company: Boston, 1882.
First edition, first issue of of the author's first historical novel with the Franklin imprint on the copyright page. BAL 3402. Johnson pp. 39-41. Octavo, bound in three quarter burgundy morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, with one hundred and ninety-two illustrations. In near fine condition.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 150845
