Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).

TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].

Item Number: 140450

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.

First edition, early state of Mark Twain’s masterpiece, lengthily inscribed by him with the first appearance of a now famous Twain quote. Octavo, original publisher’s decorated green cloth, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “One should not pay a person a compliment and straightaway follow it with a criticism. It is better to kiss him now and kick him next week. Truly yours. Mark Twain.” Early state with the textual errors on pages 9, 13, and 57, corrected. From the notable collection of Rev. L.M. Powers of Haverhill, Massachusetts which included an unusually complete collection of the works of Samuel Clemens, many being inscribed association copies, and was sold at auction by Marwin-Clayton on April 4, 1911. In near fine condition. Small bookplate and ownership inscription to the pastedown. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box with silk inlay. An exceptional example, signed and inscribed copies of Twain’s masterpiece are of the utmost rarity with this example last sold in the 1950s and easily the nicest in 70 years.

Written over an eight-year period, Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was controversial from the outset, attacked by critics for its crudeness, coarseness and vulgarity. Upon issue of the American edition in 1885, several libraries, including the Concord and Brooklyn Public Libraries, banned it from their shelves. Twain later remarked to his editor, "Apparently, the Concord library has condemned Huck as 'trash and only suitable for the slums.' This will sell us another twenty-five thousand copies for sure!" The book nevertheless emerged as one of the defining novels of American literature, prompting Hemingway to declare: "All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain. It's the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing since."