Life on the Mississippi by Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens) - 1883

Nattali and Bond. London. No Date.,Circa 1850. THREE VOLUMES. Tall 8vo (10.2 x 6.6 inches). Text and plates taken from the Ninth edition. Complete set of this famous trilogy, with 80 fine hand-coloured, full page, aquatint plates, the colouring still strong and bright, by Thomas Rowlandson. Some minor spots of foxing to a few leaves in each volume but generally clean and bright copies in the scarce original publisher's brown cloth bindings, with gilt lettering and decoration on spines. Decorative blind stamped panels on boards. Original yellow coated endpapers. Previous owners bookplates to front paste downe endpapers. Some rubbing to top and tail of spines and fore-edges, and a couple of the hinges with neatly repaired splits (about 1.5 inches) but generally these are very good examples. Slight uniform fading to spines but overall a very attractive set of this classic work with Rowlandson's humourous plates. Uncommon in the publishers original decorative cloth bindings.:

Hurst and Blackett. London. 1856 . FIRST EDITION. Three volumes. 8vo. (7.8 x 5.2 inches). Integral publishers advert leaves at the end of each volume (iii, i, ii) but bound without the publishers catalogue in volume one. Some minor foxing to a few pages but generally a very good clean copy finely re-bound by Bayntun of Bath. Half brown morocco. Spines with raised bands, each with gilt decoration. Compartments double ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt. Tan cloth on boards Marbled endpapers. Top edges gilt. A lovely copy in a fine quality, highly attractive leather binding. Loosely inserted is a 4pp hand written letter from the author (" Your affectionate Dinah") to "My Dear Alice" ( her God Daughter, the subject of the poem "My Godchild Alice"), closely written in black ink on four sides of folded leaf, each side measuring 4.5 x 3.5 inches. The letter is undated but circa 1859 and discusses, among other things, the publisher Alexander Macmillan's approval of Clarence Dobell's illustrations for her… Read More

London; from March 30, 1850-May 28, 1859: (Bradbury and evans). Octavo. In 19 volumes, double-column. A weekly collection of stories, a mixture of fiction and nonfiction along with social issues of the time. While Dickens was the editor and he did serialize a few of his stories through this magazine, it have several "unnamed" contributors. An American edition was published but not well received as it pertained to the English way of life not American. Complete London editions are scarce. A complete set bound in 3/4 contemporary red morocco over marbled paper covered boards with matching endpapers, all edges marbled., raised bands gilt, title within one compartment gilt. All hinges and joints are fine and tight, internally clean and bright without foxing. Some rubbing or darkening to bindings. From the library Joseph Greene with his armorial bookplate. A very nice set containing six of the nine extra Christmas numbers.

London: A.H.Baily and Co., 83 Cornhill, 1834. 1st Edition . Half leather. Very Good. First edition, octavo, three volumes; xx, 288; 311; 308pp. In contemporary half calf over marbled boards (with light wear only), spines divided into five compartments by double gilt fillets, gilt lettered titles and volume numbers to second and fourth compartments respectively, all page edges marbled, half titles present, small bookselller's and early ownership labels to front pastedowns, very minor loss to front pastedown of volume three probably through label removal, light creasing to first few pages of volume three, unobtrusive spotting to opening and closing leaves of each volume, overall a very good clean copy. Hood's only novel was published the same year as the abolition of slavery and is centered on Walter Tyrell, born in St.Kitts and raised in Georgian society by Sir Mark Tyrell with all the trials and tribulations of racial prejudice this brings. An attractive copy in uncommon first edition of this… Read More

Macmillan & Co. New York. 1889. New edition. 12mo. (7.5 x 5.2 inches). xii, 192, 12 pp publishers catalogue. Also an extra gathering bound in so that pages 117 to 124 appear twice. One gathering slightly sprung. Publishers dark green cloth with gilt and black decorative band across the top of the front board and the top and bottom of the spine. Black decorative roll to the bottom of the front board. Title on gilt to the middle of the front board. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Rear board with blind stamped floral roll to the top and bottom. Floral decorative endpapers. Neat two line inscription to the front free endpaper. The rear endpapers have an early previous owner's name and address written in red crayon to the free endpaper and a few short lines to the pastedown. Cloth a bit rubbed to the edges and a couple of small marks to the boards but overall a very good copy. An uncommon and attractive nineteenth century edition, printed in New York by J. J. Little and Co. This 1889 new edition was… Read More

Nattali and Bond. London. No Date.,Circa 1850. THREE VOLUMES. Tall 8vo (10.2 x 6.6 inches). Text and plates taken from the Ninth edition. Complete set of this famous trilogy, with 80 fine hand-coloured, full page, aquatint plates, the colouring still strong and bright, by Thomas Rowlandson. Some minor spots of foxing to a few leaves in each volume but generally clean and bright copies in the scarce original publisher's brown cloth bindings, with gilt lettering and decoration on spines. Decorative blind stamped panels on boards. Original yellow coated endpapers. Previous owners bookplates to front paste downe endpapers. Some rubbing to top and tail of spines and fore-edges, and a couple of the hinges with neatly repaired splits (about 1.5 inches) but generally these are very good examples. Slight uniform fading to spines but overall a very attractive set of this classic work with Rowlandson's humourous plates. Uncommon in the publishers original decorative cloth bindings.:

Hurst and Blackett. London. 1856 . FIRST EDITION. Three volumes. 8vo. (7.8 x 5.2 inches). Integral publishers advert leaves at the end of each volume (iii, i, ii) but bound without the publishers catalogue in volume one. Some minor foxing to a few pages but generally a very good clean copy finely re-bound by Bayntun of Bath. Half brown morocco. Spines with raised bands, each with gilt decoration. Compartments double ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt. Tan cloth on boards Marbled endpapers. Top edges gilt. A lovely copy in a fine quality, highly attractive leather binding. Loosely inserted is a 4pp hand written letter from the author (" Your affectionate Dinah") to "My Dear Alice" ( her God Daughter, the subject of the poem "My Godchild Alice"), closely written in black ink on four sides of folded leaf, each side measuring 4.5 x 3.5 inches. The letter is undated but circa 1859 and discusses, among other things, the publisher Alexander Macmillan's approval of Clarence Dobell's illustrations for her… Read More

London; from March 30, 1850-May 28, 1859: (Bradbury and evans). Octavo. In 19 volumes, double-column. A weekly collection of stories, a mixture of fiction and nonfiction along with social issues of the time. While Dickens was the editor and he did serialize a few of his stories through this magazine, it have several "unnamed" contributors. An American edition was published but not well received as it pertained to the English way of life not American. Complete London editions are scarce. A complete set bound in 3/4 contemporary red morocco over marbled paper covered boards with matching endpapers, all edges marbled., raised bands gilt, title within one compartment gilt. All hinges and joints are fine and tight, internally clean and bright without foxing. Some rubbing or darkening to bindings. From the library Joseph Greene with his armorial bookplate. A very nice set containing six of the nine extra Christmas numbers.

London: A.H.Baily and Co., 83 Cornhill, 1834. 1st Edition . Half leather. Very Good. First edition, octavo, three volumes; xx, 288; 311; 308pp. In contemporary half calf over marbled boards (with light wear only), spines divided into five compartments by double gilt fillets, gilt lettered titles and volume numbers to second and fourth compartments respectively, all page edges marbled, half titles present, small bookselller's and early ownership labels to front pastedowns, very minor loss to front pastedown of volume three probably through label removal, light creasing to first few pages of volume three, unobtrusive spotting to opening and closing leaves of each volume, overall a very good clean copy. Hood's only novel was published the same year as the abolition of slavery and is centered on Walter Tyrell, born in St.Kitts and raised in Georgian society by Sir Mark Tyrell with all the trials and tribulations of racial prejudice this brings. An attractive copy in uncommon first edition of this… Read More

Macmillan & Co. New York. 1889. New edition. 12mo. (7.5 x 5.2 inches). xii, 192, 12 pp publishers catalogue. Also an extra gathering bound in so that pages 117 to 124 appear twice. One gathering slightly sprung. Publishers dark green cloth with gilt and black decorative band across the top of the front board and the top and bottom of the spine. Black decorative roll to the bottom of the front board. Title on gilt to the middle of the front board. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Rear board with blind stamped floral roll to the top and bottom. Floral decorative endpapers. Neat two line inscription to the front free endpaper. The rear endpapers have an early previous owner's name and address written in red crayon to the free endpaper and a few short lines to the pastedown. Cloth a bit rubbed to the edges and a couple of small marks to the boards but overall a very good copy. An uncommon and attractive nineteenth century edition, printed in New York by J. J. Little and Co. This 1889 new edition was… Read More