LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. by Twain Mark - 1883

Boston: James R. Osgood, 1883. First Edition, First State. Blanck's intermediate A, with the tailpiece of Twain in flames on p.441 still present, and with caption on p.443 corrected to read "The St. Charles Hotel". Profusely illustrated throughout. Tall 8vo, publisher’s original decorated cloth with black stamped decorations and gilt pictorial vignettes on the upper cover, the spine decorated in black and with a large gilt pictorial vignette, lettered in gilt, a.e.g. 624. An uncommonly fine and bright copy, and fine copies are becoming extinct. ONE OF TWAIN’S BEST BOOKS AND A RARE FINE COPY IN ORIGINAL CLOTH OF THIS IMPORTANT FIRST EDITION. Twain writes about his home and his muse-the great Mississippi. “As a dwelling place for civilized man it is by far the first upon our globe.” (preface)
In this largely autobiographical narrative, Twain gives us a vivid account of his youth on the great river. A brilliant firsthand account of the steamboat age, the science of river piloting, and the life of the river itself from the point of view of those who made their living navigating it. A truly wonderful book and a valued piece of the American legacy.