OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. With Forty-Two Illustrations from Designs by Marcus Stone

1865. Stone, Marcus. Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Brothers, n.d.[1865]. 6 pp undated ads. Original blind-stamped purple cloth.

First American Edition, "Peterson sub-edition" [all quotes from Smith]. Having paid 1,000 for advance rights, Harper serialized this novel in Harper's New Monthly Magazine and, to protect their investment, published the first American edition, both in two parts in wrappers (2 February 1865 and 11 November 1865) and then complete in wrappers or in cloth on the latter date. But Harper also sold their plates to Peterson, in such a way that Peterson was able to publish this sub-edition on the same day, "probably a few hours after Harper's edition." "The added [four full-page] illustrations to this sub-edition account for the differences in the page count," compared to Harper's edition. This copy has the title page identical to that described by Smith, with the list of 23 titles in "Peterson's Uniform Edition"; some copies, believed to be later, have a paragraph describing the Harper-Peterson arrangement instead. Smith describes, in addition to wrappers, five cloth binding variants -- unusual in that they vary not just in type of cloth, but in the spine gilt lettering; this is Smith's variant "A", purple diamond-patterned cloth -- the only binding with the fancy gilt "M" and "F" on the spine. Condition is very good-plus, perhaps near-fine (a little wear at the foot of the spine, a closed tear in the front binder's flyleaf). These Peterson volumes were cheaply printed and bound, so this is quite acceptable condition for a none-too-common book in original state. Smith pp 392-396; Podeschi (Yale) A152 (a later issue).