Walden; Or, Life In The Woods by Thoreau, Henry D - 1854

Boston: Ticknor And Fields, 1854. First Edition. First Printing Very good+ in its original vertically ribbed, brown cloth with blind embossing on both boards and blind embossed bands on the spine which is also decorated with gilt lettering. A 12mo of 7 1/16 by 4 3/8 inches with several closed tears to the head and heel of the spine which have been professionally repaired on the reverse side of the headcap. There are two, small black ink marks on the upper corner of the front board and there is an early prior owner's name, date of "Sept. 21st 1855" and location of Worcester (Massachusetts) on the first free end page. Pages 263 through 350 have a light dampness stain in the upper margins none of which impact on the printing. The cloth at the lower tips of the boards is worn through. The joints and hinges are tight and strong and there are no pages loose or ragged. Vary pale yellow end sheets with 357 numbered pages of text followed by eight pages of publisher's ads dated May, 1854 sewn between the rear end sheet. The book is contained within a fine, cloth covered slip case of a color in harmony with the cloth covers of the book. Illustrated with an engraving on the title page and Thoreau's map of Walden Pond facing page 307. This classic of American literature only saw 2,000 first edition copies printed. (BAL, 20106; Borst, A2.1.a)