BLACK BEAUTY: The Autobiography of a Horse
by Sewell, Anna
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good+/Fair
- Seller
-
Renton, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Newark and NYC: Charles E. Graham, 1920. Hardcover. Very Good+/Fair. Beautiful reprint edition, circa 1920, of 1877 book. Wide 8vo. Pictorial red cloth with applied lithograph of watercolor painting on decorated red cloth with black titles. Unpaginated. Color frontispiece and 50 b/w illustrations we believe to be from wood block. Ink inscription, "From Santa Claus" on ffep with no names or other gift information. The front and rear free endpapers are toned as the paper used to print this edition was pulpy. The condition is remarkably good and the covers are bright with only one slight corner bump. The dj is fair with chips and with one edge of the backstrip that was detached reattached with archival material. We must note that the dj, although clearly period (old) has no price listed. The dj flaps along the leading edge are blank and the lovely color illustrated panels of the covers extend more than half-way onto the flaps. If this were new paper we would suspect this is a copied dj, but frankly we do not believe this to be the case. The colors are rich and have depth and the wear is not artificial. We simply believe this to be a cheaply produced book. Evenso, it is a beautiful copy of a class horse book.
Synopsis
First published under the full title: Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the Equine, by Jarrold and Sons London in 1877, the novel now known as simply Black Beauty was written by English author Anna Sewell. The first American editions from 1890 have the added title ' The “Uncle Tom's Cabin” of the Horse' as promoters of the novel hoped it would do for animal welfare what Stowe's novel did for the abolition of slavery. Anna Sewell was born in 1820 in Great Yarmouth, England. She suffered an accident as a child that left her crippled and dependent on carriage horses as her main source of mobility. She began writing Black Beauty in 1871, and continued through 1877 though her health was deteriorating. In December 1876 she wrote in her diary "I have been confined to the house and to my sofa, from time to time, when I am able, been writing what I think will turn out a little book, its special aim being to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses". Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was a successful children's author, and Anna helped edit her books, and later her mother helped Anna transcribe Black Beauty . An animal autobiography, told by the magnificent black horse himself, this is the dramatic and heartwarming tale of Black Beauty's life-from his idyllic days on a country squire's estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse. Although not originally intended as a children's novel, but for people who work with horses, it soon became a children's classic. Two years after the release of Black Beauty in the United States there were one million copies in circulation. Today Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books in history, with over 50 million copies sold in 50 different languages. The earliest dated inscribed copies are Christmas 1877. Although the book was an immediate bestseller, Sewell lived just long enough to see her first and only novel become a success – she died on 25 April 1878.
Read More: Identifying first editions of BLACK BEAUTY: The Autobiography of a Horse
Reviews
On Sep 8 2005, Marydeme said:
While living at Squire Gordon's country estate, the spirited young horse, Black Beauty, is well taken care of an happy. But when the squire is forced to sell off his horses, Black Beauty's life changes as he is passed from one curel master to another. After much hardship and perseverance, Black Beauty finds a home full of love and kindness.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Gene W. Baade Books on the West
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- SHEL1346
- Title
- BLACK BEAUTY: The Autobiography of a Horse
- Author
- Sewell, Anna
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- Fair
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Charles E. Graham
- Place of Publication
- Newark and NYC
- Date Published
- 1920
- Keywords
- Black Beauty
- Bookseller catalogs
- Horses; Fiction & Fantasy;
Terms of Sale
Gene W. Baade Books on the West
PROSPECTIVE BUYERS may contact Gene W. Baade Books on the West FOR DIRECT PURCHASES (Paypal, check, money order) at (425) 271-6481, or email bookwest@q.com. Shipping via USPS media mail: $4.99 first book, $2.50 each additional book unless oversize and over weight books are involved. Priority mailed to US addresses. Regular octavo size book $18.50 first book, $10.00 each additional. Over-sized books that do no fit into a flat rate box will require additional postage. Shipping rate out of the U.S. may be more than shown depending one weight as default shipping is for books under 3 lbs. In special cases, we may request insurance to be added. That said, we package very carefully to protect the book or product.
About the Seller
Gene W. Baade Books on the West
Biblio member since 2004
Renton, Washington
About Gene W. Baade Books on the West
Quality dealer of fine used and rare books, primarily on the North American frontier since 1988, but we also carry collectable books in various other fields.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Fair
- is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc....
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
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