The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company,, 1885. With one hundred and seventy-four illustrations. Octavo (214 x 164 mm). Publisher's half morocco, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, rebacked with original spine laid down. Custom red morocco-backed slipcase and chemise. Photogravure portrait frontispiece (second state, with the imprint of the Heliotype Printing Company and with "Karl Gerhardt, Sc." added to the finished edge of the shoulder), illustrated throughout with 173 text illustrations after E. W. Kemble. Boards slightly rubbed, one spot of soiling above text on title page, pp. 147-152 with minor loss from each upper corner not affecting text. First US edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the month of publication on the preliminary blank, "To Major J. B. Pond With the affections of Mark Twain Feb. 21/85", and further extensively inscribed by Pond ("This is the first copy that the author ever set his eyes on …") Major James Burton Pond (1838-1903) became a lecture manager after a distinguished career in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Pond was hired by Twain in the summer of 1884 to oversee his lengthy 1884-85 lecture tour which would encompass eighty cities and number over a hundred performances. The tour was a critical and commercial success, earning Twain $17,000, and included some of Twain's first readings from Huckleberry Finn. Only three substantive changes were introduced after the first printing: at p. 13 the erroneous page reference "88" was changed to "87"; at p. 57 the misprint "with the was" was corrected to "with the saw"; and at p. 9 the misprint "Decided" was corrected to "Decides". This copy has all these in first state. The frontispiece was printed separately and inserted at random, and has no relation to the order of the printed sheets. Copies in the original half morocco binding are the least often met with. Less than two weeks before publication, the publisher Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies in half morocco. Webster's own copy, also half morocco, was dated by him as having been received from the binder on 26 November 1884. At some stage it was realised that the Uncle Silas illustration on page 283 had been mischievously tampered with. In this copy, the illustration is in first state.

Charles L. Webster, 1885 First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Mark Twain on a laid in signature. This First Edition book has the original boards that are in nice shape with light wear to the spine and panels. The binding is tight, and the panels are crisp with slight wear to the edges. The pages are clean, with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a beautiful copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION SIGNED by the author. We buy Twain First Editions.. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First American Edition. Publisher’s sheep; this is an early copy with the following points: p. , “Him and another man” incorrectly listed as at p.88; page 57, “..with the was...” as opposed to “...with the saw...”; page 283 is in the first state (only early prospectuses and leather bound copies have the engraving on that soon to be suppressed and replaced plate in this original state); frontispiece in state 2 (of no significance). Outer joint of the front board splitting; some spotting; owner’s contemporary signature and signature stamp; still good to very good; in a custom quarter-morocco clamshell box.

Webster, 1885 The very rare first edition in publisher's sheepskin, with the first issue point of the original censored drawing with the unaltered fly. Signed and dated by the author on a laid-in small card. Very good condition, front cover partially detached from spine. Housed in a handsome quarter-leather custom-make collector's clamshell case.. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket.

Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885-01-01. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Signed. Publisher's original 1/2 leather, with page edges, pastedowns, and endpapers all marbled. One of just 500 copies printed (Raptis Rare Books, internet article, March 2014) and comes with a copy of the infamous "priapic plate", one of 100 proof copies made by Merle Johnson from an original leaf from an unbound copy found in the collection of Willard S. Morse.///LAID in is a hand written response, declining an invitation, on a folded Quarry Farm labeled note, dated "Sept. 17/03", and SIGNED, "S. L. Clemens". (Quarry Farm was the home of Susan Langdon Crane, sister of Mark Twain's wife Olivia, and often the summer residence of the Twains. Mark Twain wrote, at least in part, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn while at Quarry Farm). The note sheet was created with a fold to yield 4 writing surfaces although this message is confined solely to the letterhead panel; The note was then manually folded, horizontally. It was written 5 weeks prior to the Twain family leaving for Italy and was penned during the last summer they spent together at Quarry Farm, as Olivia died in Italy the following June. ///CONDITION OF THE NOTE: Very good-near fine, with a touch of toning, faint soiling, two miniscule specks on the letterhead panel, the faint horizontal crease, and light peeling on the rear panel where it had been affixed to some other surface. ///CONDITION OF THE BOOK: The spine and corners have been professionally restored (corners still showing the bumped tips) and the marbled surfaces have some scratches and nicks. Interior condition problems: 1.) The pastedown/endpaper hinges have been reinforced, 2.) the front endpaper has a 1/8"x 1/4" upper corner chip, 3.) there is scattered light foxing on the front and rear the preliminary pages, 4.) leaves 3-18 have areas of (food?) staining heaviest on page 17 with bleeding back to the copyright page and finally vanishing on page 36, 5.) the bottom corner of page 23-24 has a 1/2"x7/8" chip. 6.) the rest of the text has occasional soiling, some perimeter stains, a few tipped corners, one dog-eared page, and most pages have light perimeter toning. ///ISSUE POINTS: The tissue guarded front plate is second state with no cloth visible under the bust. The title/copyright leaf is integral (lack of uniform opinion on this point), "Him and another man" is incorrectly listed at page 88 (instead of page 87 where it appears), page 57 has "with the was" on line 11 from the bottom, page 143 is missing the "l" in "Col." (which is part of the illustration at the top line of the text) and has the broken "b"in "body" on line 7, the final 5 of page 155 is lacking (again, lacks consensus), the illustration on page 283 is bound in with the noticeable curve on the fly of Silas Phelp's trousers, and the final leaf is blank. ///CONDITION OF THE PROOF PLATE: The plate is lightly toned and there are some creases, and a small hole (1/8" x 1/16") on the right edge; repaired on the verso with a small piece of tape. ///OVERALL: in spite of the aforementioned flaws, this is a very good and quite scarce 130 year old volume. Several of these leather bound copies are in university and library collections, while others have surely been destroyed or lost, leaving precious few for private collections.

Charles Webster, 1885 First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Mark Twain on a laid in card. An attractive copy of this first edition with the gold lettering still present on the boards and spine. The book is in nice shape with light wear to the edges and corners. Overall, a sharp clean copy with the following First Edition points, Table Cloth present, "Him and Another Man" listed incorrectly, "with the was" and P. 155 lettering with 5 mis print. Includes a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation. We buy Mark Twain First Editions.. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First American Edition. Publisher’s sheep; this is an early a copy with the following points: p. , “Him and another man” incorrectly listed as at p.88; page 57, “..with the was...” as opposed to “...with the saw...”; page 283 is in the second state (only early prospectuses and leather bound copies have the engraving on that soon to be suppressed and replaced plate in this original state); frontispiece in state 2 (of no significance). A very good copy.

New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885. First Edition. Hardcover. Hinges tight. Internally a very clean copy and very unusual as such. Light wear to corners, faint tape stains to boards. Near Fine. First Printing. Publisher's library binding of full sheep, the scarcest of the bindings for this title, here very skillfully rebacked retaining the original leather spine labels. With 174 illustrations by E. W. Kemble. BAL 3415. Earliest issue for four points of BAL's seven points and with McBride's point. Recent Twain scholarship convincingly establishes three changes from the printing plates of the first printing of 30,000 copies and later printings: 1) an erroneous page reference "88" on page 13 later changed to "87" (BAL's point 2); 2) the misprint "with the was" on page 57 later corrected to "with the saw" (BAL's point 3); and 3) the misprint "Decided" on page 9 later changed to "Decides" (not noted by BAL). This copy has all three first printing points as well as most of the earliest points for BAL, lacking only the conjugate title page and having the conjugate page 283 with the vertical fly and the frontispiece with the credit to Heliotype but without the scarf.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First edition. First Issue. With 174 black and white illustrations by E.W. Kemble. Large 8vo, original publisher's sheep binding with the red and black lettering labels on the spine. It is estimated that only 2500 copies were issued in this binding. 366 pp. A very pleasing and handsome copy. Light, expert and unobtrusive refurbishment to the joints. FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND GREATEST BOOKS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. A very handsome copy with the following earliest setting states as listed by BAL: "Him and another Man" is listed at page 88, BAL's first state; page 57, eleventh line from the bottom reads "...with the was...," BAL's first state; page 155 with final 5 “stamped in” by hand (see Underhill), and matching the original font in the setting of the page number (no priority, occurring randomly in all three states independent of other major signs of first printing sheets, but this setting seems to appear least often); the portrait frontispiece is in BAL's first state, “heliotype” imprint on the portrait frontispiece, title page with 1884 copyright on verso, p.9: the heading for Chapter 6 reads “Decided” (later corrected to “Decides”), p.143: “I” in “Col.” (line 1) missing and “b” in “body” (line 7) broken, p. 161: signature mark “11” is missing, final leaf is a blank. Very rare with this many first issue points. The sheep bindings are generally in poor condition, but this copy is still quite nice. Along with Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn is considered the stepping stone to modern American literature. And along with Tom Sawyer, for the first time, the hero of the novel was a boy. These books are landmarks and Hemingway often offered his opinion that the modern novel would have been impossible without them. With Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and Melville’s Moby Dick, they provide us with a view of America transcending its past and beginning its future.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First American Edition. Original publisher’s green cloth. This is as early a copy as appears in cloth, with the following points: p. , “Him and another man” incorrectly listed as at p.88; page 57, “..with the was...” as opposed to “...with the saw...”; page 283 is a cancel (only early prospectuses and leather bound copies have the engraving on that plate in its original state); the final “5” is lacking in the numbering of page 155. Leather bookplate (offset onto the front free endpaper); very light cloth wear at the extremities; tiny cloth mend at the very bottom of the front cover; a bright, very nearly fine copy; in a cloth slipcase.

Webster, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with the important first issue points. The points present are: Heliotype Printing Co. imprint is present, the heading for chapter 6, on p. 9 reads "decided(later this was corrected to "Decides"; on p. 13 "him and another man" reference is to p. 88 not 87; p. 57, 11 lines up, says ".with the was." not .with the saw.; P. 143 in line 7 down from the top part of b in "body" is missing; on p. 155 there is a font difference in the final 5 in 155. A beautiful copy that has minor wear to the edges and corners. The pages are clean with no writing, marks or bookplates. A lovely copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION housed in a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation and presentation. We buy Twain First Editions.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885. First American Edition of "Huckleberry Finn," First Printing A Near Fine and Untouched Copy TWAIN, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade). With one hundred and seventy-four illustrations. New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885. First American edition, with the following "traditional" bibliographical points: the title-page is a cancel, with the copyright notice dated 1884 (BAL second state, with the first state only noted in publisher's prospectuses and advanced sheets); p. [13], the illustration captioned "Him and another Man" is incorrectly listed as at p. 88 (BAL first state); p. 57, the eleventh line from the bottom reads "with the was" instead of "with the saw" (BAL first state); p. 283 is a cancel, with the engraving redone and the line indicating the fly on Silas Phelps's trousers a straight vertical line (BAL third state, the earliest known to appear in cloth-bound copies of the book); p. 155, the final "5" in the pagination is missing (BAL first state); the frontispiece portrait has the imprint of the Heliotype Printing Co. and the tablecloth, or scarf, on which the bust rests not visible (BAL second state). Octavo (8 7/16 x 6 9/16 inches; 210 x 167 mm.). 366, [2, blank] pp. Inserted frontispiece portrait and wood-engraved text illustrations. Complete with the final blank leaf (signature 23/8). Original dark green cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt and black on front cover and spine. Original pale peach endpapers. The absolute minimum of rubbing to corners and spine extremities. Tiny tear (1/4 inch) in the lower blank margin of leaf 7/1 (pp. 97/98). Occasional very minor marginal soiling. An exceptionally bright and totally untouched copy. Chemised in a quarter olive morocco over marbled boards slipcase. "In November [1884], after the first printing was finished and before the second printing of 10,000 copies was begun (the third printing of another 10,000 copies did not follow until March, 1885), the plates were corrected to reflect three changes in the text: at page 13 the erroneous page reference '88' was changed to '87'; at page 57 the misprint 'with the was' was corrected to 'with the saw'; and at page 9 [the 'Contents' leaf] the misprint 'Decided' was corrected to 'Decides.' This last change was overlooked by Johnson, BAL, and every other bibliographer, but was noted by the Iowa-Berkeley editors of HUCK FINN. Because these three changes are documented as having been made between the first and second printings, they can absolutely distinguish the first and second printing sheets from each other. While mixing of sheets can sometimes occur during the collating or binding process, no copy of HUCK FINN has been found that does not have all three of these changes present, or all three absent. That strongly suggests that no mixing of first and second printing sheets took place. Unlike those changes made between the two printings, the corrections made to the plates during the course of the first printing are of no use in distinguishing between the two printings...By early November, the sheets of HUCK FINN were being forwarded for binding, and within a week or two it was discovered that the illustration at page 283 had been altered in the master plate to make it appear as if Uncle Silas was exposing his penis...By the time the ribald alteration (that's BAL's term, not mine) was discovered, the first printing was finished, and some sheets may have been in bindings, some sheets had been gathered and sewn, and some were collated but not yet sewn...No copies of the book, in cloth or in leather, show clear evidence of having had page 283 cancelled after binding. All surviving copies that contain the cancelled page, when closely examined, show evidence that the cancel took place after the sheets were sewn, but before they were nipped and trimmed for casing into the binding...In addition to the obscene illustration, a change was made in the plate for the copyright page, correcting the copyright date from 1885 to 1884. No copies of the book exist with the 1885 copyright page in uncancelled state, including copies in leather...Readers familiar with the traditional bibliographical 'points' of HUCK FINN may object that I have dismissed those 'points' that involve damaged plates (the missing 'l' in the illustration at page 143 that was replaced at some point; the three states of page 155 involving the replacement of the final '5'; the signature mark at page 161 that was missing, but eventually replaced). Because these resulted from damage to the plates at various points within the course of the first printing, and repairs could have been made to some plates while not to others, they are of no significance in determining the sequence of the printing of the sheets...All of these occur at random in relation to each other within copies of the first printing, a strong indicator of the use of multiple plates, and possibly mixed sheets within the collating process. Finally, the signature mark at page 161 has never been found in a copy of the first or second printing, so it hardly warrants discussion" (See Kevin MacDonnell, "Huck Finn among the Issue-Mongers," Firsts The Book Collector's Magazine, Volume 8, Number 9 (September 1998), pp. 28-35). BAL 3415. Grolier, 100 American, 87. Johnson, Twain, pp. 43-50. McBride, pp. 92-112.

Charles L. Webster, 1885 A very good first edition, first issue in the rare sheepskin binding which has been recased with a new spine. Housed in a custom-made collector's clamshell case with a leather spine. First edition. First Issue. With 174 black and white illustrations by E.W. Kemble. Large 8vo, original publisher's sheep binding with the red and black lettering labels on the spine. It is estimated that only 2500 copies were issued in this binding. 366 pp. A very pleasing and handsome copy. Light, expert and unobtrusive refurbishment to the joints and new matching spine. FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND GREATEST BOOKS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. A very handsome copy with the following earliest setting states as listed by BAL: "Him and another Man" is listed at page 88, BAL's first state; page 57, eleventh line from the bottom reads ".with the was.," BAL's first state; page 155 with final 5 "stamped in" by hand (see Underhill), and matching the original font in the setting of the page number (no priority, occurring randomly in all three states independent of other major signs of first printing sheets, but this setting seems to appear least often); the portrait frontispiece is in BAL's first state, "heliotype" imprint on the portrait frontispiece, title page with 1884 copyright on verso, p.9: the heading for Chapter 6 reads "Decided" (later corrected to "Decides"), p.143: "I" in "Col." (line 1) missing and "b" in "body" (line 7) broken, p. 161: signature mark "11" is missing, final leaf is a blank. Very rare with this many first issue points. The sheep bindings are generally in poor condition, but this copy is still quite nice. Along with Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn is considered the stepping stone to modern American literature. And along with Tom Sawyer, for the first time, the hero of the novel was a boy. These books are landmarks and Hemingway often offered his opinion that the modern novel would have been impossible without them. With Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and Melville’s Moby Dick, they provide us with a view of America transcending its past and beginning its future.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket.

Charles L. Webster And Company. Near Fine with No dust jacket as issued. 1884/85. First American Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A professionally restored and rebound First American Edition from the very limited sheep skin covered first print run. This copy, meticulously rebound in a copy of the original boards (also included as verification of the book's original state), with finish matching the original and with red and black morocco spinal labels. Water stain to the lower inside corner along bottom edge, of the first 75 pages, about 3 inches by 1 inch at front, diminishing as pages advance. tanned page edges, no chips and not brittle. All points as for a true first edition first printing: Title-page bound in; page 57 "was for saw"; Illustration Index "him and another man" listed on page 88; page 155 lacked the final 5 of the page number which was corrected and restruck with an elevated and larger type set "5"; page 283 is bound-in, in the first state with Silas Phelps's trousers showing a definite curve; Frontis is state 2 with the imprint of Heliotype Printing, table cloth and table not visible and the artist's name on the edge of the bust; copyright page dated 1884; page 143 with “l” missing from “Col.” at top of illustration and with broken “b” in “body” on line seven. This is the very rare first state of Huck Finn that is seen only in a few of the leather bound copies of the book (of which this is one) that were issued before the "pornographic" illustration on p. 283 was discovered. These leather-bounds, needless to say, are now prized collector's items"[Freedman, The First Edition of Huckleberry Finn: An Overview in Proteus, Fall, 1984].Copies of Huckleberry Finn in the original publisher’s leather bindings are quite rare. “The relative rarity of the cloth and leather bindings is clear. Speculatively, shortly before publication, Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies in three-quarter leather. Copies bound in leather dried out, cracked apart, this copy being one, where the spine broke off leaving only the boards attached (again, these are included). Details and photos available upon request for serious inquiries. .

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's green cloth. The book has the earliest First Issue points according to BAL "Frontispiece of Twain with cloth visible under bust, "Page 9 Chapter VI "Huck Decided" instead of "Decides" "Him and Another Man" listed incorrectly on p.88 rather than Page 87, "Page 57, 11 lines from bottom "with the was" rather than "with the saw" "Page 155" with the 5 missing "Page 143 First word, the letter "L" missing from "Col". A magnificent copy. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning. The boards are crisp with minor wear edges. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A wonderful copy.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First edition, first printing. Original publisher's three-quarter brown morocco, raised bands, gilt compartments, marbled boards. An excellent copy with only light rubbing. A scarce book in this most expensive deluxe binding, of which just 500 copies of the first edition (30,000 copies total) were bound. Besides the three essential points of the first printing, the following textual points are also present: the title-page and page 283 are cancels; page 155 (last 5 is missing; first or second state). Page 155 occurs randomly in all three states within first printing sheets, a strong indication of the use of multiple plates in the production of this book, or mixed sheets. The frontispiece portrait is in the second state of three (not a point of priority as BAL points out, since it is an insert, printed separately from the sheets and added at the time of binding). Housed in a folding case, leather label. BAL 3415. Peter Parley to Penrod, pp. 75-6. Grolier American Hundred 87.

West Hatfield, MA: Pennyroyal Press. Fine. 1985. Signed by Illustrator. Leather. Hand-crafted and published by the Pennyroyal Press in an edition of 350 sets, this being #215, with the folio of 49 individual prints, originally unsigned, at the 100 year anniversary of the publication of the first edition. While uncalled for with this publication, in this set, Mr. Moser has signed each print in the folio. This is one of only 4 known examples of this set complete with the folio of 49 prints each individually signed by Barry Moser; Mark Twain's famous tale in a stunning presentation with forty-nine wood engravings by Barry Moser. Publisher's full green morocco gilt by E. Gray Parrot. Triple gilt-rule borders on covers, with the dates 1885-1985 stamped in gilt within roundel in the center of the upper cover. The spine is lettered in gilt, with paste paper linen end-sheets by David Bourbeau. Printed on Mohawk Letterpress, accompanied with a signed suite of the 49 prints, (same images as the engravings in the book) all encased in a linen chemise. Book and print folio in slip-case; Wood engravings .

Charles L. Webster, 1885 A rebound version of the original full sheepskin edition. First Edition, first printing, with all of the earliest first issue points, and the only edition with the censored illustration (with the bulging fly) on page 283 (the original conjugate page, not the cancel that appears in all other first editions). The scarcest and earliest version of this title, here skillfully rebound retaining the look of the original sheepskin binding. With 174 illustrations by E. W. Kemble. BAL 3415. Comes in a custom-made collector's slipcase.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/No Jacket.

Charles L. Webster, 1885 A very good first edition with first issue points -- tablecloth in frontispiece, illustration listed on page 88, was for saw, Decided on page 9. Green cloth. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good.

Charles L. Webster & Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with ALL the major important First Issue points. "Him and another Man" is listed at page 88 instead of 87, on page 57, the eleventh line from the bottom reads "with the was" page 155 with the missing 5, the portrait frontispiece has "heliotype" imprint and the cloth table is present underneath the bust, the title page has the 1885 date with 1884 printed on the copyright page, p.9 the heading for Chapter 6 reads "Decided" later corrected to "Decides" p.143 "I" in "Col." and missing the "b" in "body" on line 7. The book is bound in the ORIGINAL green cloth from the publisher. The binding is tight, with NO cocking or leaning, with minor wear to the edges. The pages are clean, with light discoloration. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a beautiful copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION with a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine.

New York, Charles L. Webster, 1885., 1885. First edition. 8vo. With 174 illustrations. Full gilt stamped dark green morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, spine with raised bands and gilt ruled compartments, covers double ruled in gilt, upper cover with a variously colored onlay depicting a standing figure of Huckleberry Finn, gilt stamped inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, a.e.g. Fine. Enclosed in a dark green cloth folding box, with gilt stamped black morocco label. No signatures or bookplates.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/No Jacket.

NY: Webster, 1885. First edition, later state. 8vo, pp. 366. Bound in the rare blue cloth binding(rubbed to the extremities, some darkening and soiling to the covers) This copy was recased (although it is hard to tell), essentially a very good copy. Small water mark to the bottom of the frontispiece, Issued with mostly later points: Title leaf is conjugate with (1)7; at page (13), the illustration captioned "Him and another man" is listed at p. 87; p. 57 has the reading, "with the saw", frontis portrait is state 3, not showing table or scarf and with the sculptor's name on the bust, p. 283 shows the replaced illustration bound in and p. 155 shows the last '5' replaced in a different font. A very good copy. BAL 3415; Peter Parley to Penrod. pp. 75-6; Grolier American Hundred 87. The Rare Blue Cloth.

Webster, 1885 First Edition, First Printing. This is TRUE FIRST EDITION bound in the original green cloth. The book has the important First Issue point with the table visible underneath the bust of Twain. Later issues do not show the table. The book is in nice condition with some wear to the spine and panels. The pages are clean with light wear to the edges. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, an attractive copy housed in a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation and presentation.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine.

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with the majority of the First Issue points. A superb copy bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's green cloth. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp with minor wear to the edges. The pages are clean with minor wear to the edges. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a wonderful copy in collector's condition.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

NY: Charles L. Webster and Company. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1885. First Printing. Hard Cover. Publisher's full green cloth, reverse lettering on gilt panel and additional gilt lettering on spine, gilt decoration and lettering on cover, black embossed decoration on spine and embossed black lettering and decoration on cover. Illustrated with 174 B&W drawings by E. W. Kemble and tissue-protected photographic frontispiece of bust of the author. First issue, with the following points: (1) Copyright date 1884 (leaf bound in - McBride State C); (2) On page 13 the illustration "Him and Another Man" is listed as being at page 88, when in fact it appears on page 87 (McBride State A); (3) The typographical error "with the was," instead of "with the saw," appears on page 57 (McBride State A); (4) The final "5" on Page No. 155 is added in a different font (McBride State C); (5) There is no signature mark "11" on page 161 (McBride State A); (6) On page 283 the fly on Silas' pants is straight (leaf tipped in - McBride State C); (7) In the portrait frontispiece, the cloth under the bust is visible, the imprint is "Heliotype," and the statement "Karl Gerhardt, Sc." has not been added to the finished edge of the shoulder (McBride State A); (8) On page 143 the "l" in "Col." is missing at line 1 and the "b" in body is broken at Line 7 (McBride State A); in addition, (9) On page 9, the word "decided" appears instead of the correct "decides"; (10) On page 58 the "d" in "touched" is broken at line 29; (11) On page 59, the "t" in "let" is missing at line 10; and (12) Also on page 59, the "d" in "would" is broken at line 11. [McBride, 93][ BAL 3415][Grolier American 100: 87]. . This copy has been expertly rebacked with the original spine and covers laid down. The volume is housed in an extremely fine custom-made clam-shell box. An excellent example of the first appearance of this classic work. VERY GOOD. . B&W Drawings. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. 366 pp .

Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with the following early points "page 13 the illustration "Him and Another Man" is incorrectly listed at page 88" "page 57 reads ".with the was." rather than the intended ". with the saw" "page 9 the heading for Chapter VI reads "Huck Decided," rather than the "Huck Decides" to which it was later corrected. Other key issue points included in their earliest state are: the inserted plate with the illustration of the bust of Twain is credited to the "Heliotype Printing Co.;" with cloth visible; on page 143 the "l" in "Col." is missing; on page 161 the signature mark "11" is missing. The book is bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's green cloth with minor wear to the spine and edges. The pages are clean with light wear. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy in collector's condition.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine.

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First edition, first printing, early states, and first state of frontispiece. Original green cloth, gilt. A bright tight copy with just mild fraying at spine tips. The following textual points are present: the title-page and page 283 are cancels (earliest states for cloth copies); all first printing readings are present; and the frontispiece portrait is in the first state of three (not a point of priority as BAL points out, since it is an insert, printed separately from the sheets and added at the time of binding). BAL 3415. Peter Parley to Penrod, pp. 75-6. Grolier American Hundred 87.

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with 5 of the 6 important First Issue points. A wonderful copy bound in the publisher's original green cloth that has been professionally restored on the spine and reinforced in the gutters. The binding is tight and the gold lettering on the spine is present. The pages are clean with minor discoloration and slight wear to the edges. Overall, a sharp copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First edition, first printing. Original publisher's three-quarter brown morocco, raised bands, gilt compartments, marbled boards. Very good copy with heavily worn corners and expert repair to front hinge. A scarce book in this most expensive deluxe binding, of which just 500 copies of the first edition (30,000 copies total) were bound. Besides the three essential points of the first printing, the following textual points are also present: the title-page and page 283 are cancels; page 155 (last 5 is missing; first or second state). Page 155 occurs randomly in all three states within first printing sheets, a strong indication of the use of multiple plates in the production of this book, or mixed sheets. The frontispiece portrait is in the second state of three (not a point of priority as BAL points out, since it is an insert, printed separately from the sheets and added at the time of binding). Housed in a folding case, leather label. BAL 3415. Peter Parley to Penrod, pp. 75-6. Grolier American Hundred 87.

New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885. First Edition. Hardcover. Hinges fine; some rubbing to gilt on the spine and a little to the cloth, mostly to the rear cover. Contents lightly foxed. Light wear to spine tips and corners. Very Good or better. Original decorated green cloth. With 174 illustrations by E. W. Kemble. BAL 3415: With first issue points of pages 13, 57, and 143; second issue of title page, frontispiece, and page 155; and fourth issue of page 283. Also with McBride's first issue point on page 143. Recent Twain scholarship convincingly establishes three changes from the printing plates of the first printing of 30,000 copies and later printings: 1) an erroneous page reference "88" on page 13 later changed to "87" (BAL's point 2); 2) the misprint "with the was" on page 57 later corrected to "with the saw" (BAL's point 3); and 3) the misprint "Decided" on page 9 later changed to "Decides" (not noted by BAL). This copy has all three first printing points. Nineteenth century pink paper bookplate on the front pastedown with the word "Wing" and the number "1783.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885 Illustrated by Edward Windsor Kemble. First edition, first issue, with the following first issue points: cancel title leaf with the copyright notice dated 1884 (indicative of second state), p. 9 with "Decided", p. 13 with the illustration "Him and Another Man" listed as page 88 (BAL's first state), p. 57 with "with the was" (first state), p. 283 with a straight fly on a cancel leaf (third state), p. 155 with the final five larger than the first (third state), p. 161 lacking the signature mark, leaf 238 present as final blank, frontispiece in first state with tablecloth clearly visible and Heliotype Printing Company imprint. Publisher's decorative green cloth, with an illustration of Huck Finn to the front panel in black and gilt, lettered in black and gilt, pale peach endpapers. About near fine with a touch of rubbing to extremities, particularly around spine ends, gilt slightly dimmed to spine, a touch of thumb-soiling throughout, else tight and clean. Overall, a handsome copy, free of any repairs or restoration. BAL 3415. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a pseudo companion novel to Twain's highly successful The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876); although both are set in the antebellum South, Tom Sawyer is the tale of a young boy's mischievous adventures, while Huckleberry Finn involves a disenfranchised youth's moral dilemmas about social conflict. Specifically, Huckleberry Finn runs away from his alcoholic father and befriends Jim, a run-away African-American slave seeking freedom in the North. The dialog of the text features local dialects drawn from Twain's experiences living in the South. When it was first published in the United States in 1885, Huckleberry Finn was highly scrutinized and was banned by several libraries. Interestingly, the text was banned not for its saturation of racist vocabulary and prejudiced world-views, but for its depiction of criminal, lower class white Americans. Although it continued to be challenged in the 20th century for its depiction and treatment of African-Americans, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remains one of the Great American Novels. Indeed, Ernest Hemingway proclaimed that it was the beginning of American literature: "There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.". Illus. by Kemble, Edward Windsor. First Edition.. Hard Cover. Near Fine.

Charles Webster, 1885 First Edition. There are several printing variations or "states" of this first edition, and this is the last corrected state of the first edition with the points corrected. This book measures 8 3/4" x 6 3/4" with 366 pages. It is in nice condition with some wear to the binding, and edges. The binding is tight, and the boards are clean with light rubbing. The pages are exceptionally clean for this title. This book has all "one hundred and seventy-four illustrations" by E. W. Kemble as required for the first edition, and the frontispiece tissue guard is present. There is no writing, foxing, or bookplates in the book. Overall, an attractive copy of this scarce first edition that has held up well over the years.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. Salesman's Dummy. Cloth. A salesman's prospectus/dummy for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Original green cloth, half-title with Kemble illustration on verso, portrait bust heliotype after Gephardt, title page, notice, explanatory, contents, list of illustrations and 39 leaves of text, with numerous illustrations after Kemble, 2 page advertisment for the present title, and subscriber's blanks at rear. Publisher's green cloth, covers stamped in gilt and black, spine design stamped on rear cover; peach endpapers. A rare example of the salesman's dummy for Twain's greatest work - only 2 copies are in the auction record. The title page and page 283 are integral; in the list of illustrations the one captioned "Him and another Man" is incorrectly listed on page 88 (first state). Older repair at spine ends, tips worn through. The two samples of spines of alternate leather bindings are absent from front pastedown. The text is very good.

London: Chatto & Windus, 1884. First English edition. Kemble. Second state (bound with staples) Bound in publisher's red cloth stamped in black and gilt, recased with the original spine laid down, repaired at the extremities, rear flyleaf in facsimile. (When this was recased, it was sewn in the conventional manner as the first issue, but this was originally stapled). Some discoloring to the upper right corner of the front board. 32 page catalogue of publisher's adv. dated October 1884. A very good tight clean copy. BAL 3414. Scarce. This preceeded the US edition.

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing. This is the TRUE FIRST EDITION with the important First Issue point with the table cloth visible underneath the Twain bust. Later printings do NOT show the table cloth. This copy is bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's green cloth with some repair. The book is in nice shape. The binding is tight and with minor wear to the boards. The pages are clean with minor foxing. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. This copy has the earliest First Issue points according to BAL "Frontispiece of Twain with cloth visible under bust, "Page 9 Chapter VI "Huck Decided" instead of "Decides" "Him and Another Man" listed incorrectly on p.88 rather than Page 87, "Page 57, 11 lines from bottom "with the was" rather than "with the saw" "Page 155" with the 5 missing "Page 143 First word, the letter "L" missing from "Col" An attractive copy in collector's condition.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885. Octavo. 366pp. First edition. Earliest issue, with almost all first issue points: page 13: the illustration captioned 'Him and another Man' listed at p. 88 (BAL first state); the eleventh line from the bottom of p. 57 reads '...with the was...' (BAL first state); page 155 with final 5 "stamped in" by hand, and matching the original font in the setting of the page number (no priority, occurring randomly in all three states independent of other major signs of first printing sheets, but this setting seems to appear least often); the portrait frontispiece is in BAL's first state, "heliotype" imprint on the portrait frontispiece, title page with 1884 copyright on verso; page 9: the heading for Chapter 6 reads "Decided" (later corrected to "Decides"); page143: "I" in "Col." (line 1) missing and "b" in "body" (line 7) broken; and no signature mark '11' at page 161. The final leaf is a blank. Publisher's original sheepskin with the red-and-black lettering labels on the spine. Spine repaired, however, this is one of the finest sheep bindings we have seen on this book. It is estimated that only 2500 copies were issued in this binding. With 174 black-and-white illustrations by E.W. Kemble. .

New York: Charles L. Webster & Co, 1885. First Edition. Very Good. First edition, first issue. (The first American edition in cloth. All definitive points present: p. 9 has "Decided" instead of "Decides"; p. 13 lists illustration on p. 88 "Him and another Man"; p. 57 error "with the was" 11 lines up from bottom of text. Frontispiece has table with tablecloth visible under bust, Heliotype Printing Co. imprint; last digit stamped on p. 155 page number, extending slightly below; correct trade issue straight fly on pg. 283. Title leaf is conjugate, copyright page dated 1884. Pg. 143 has "l" in "Col." missing. No signature mark on p. 161.) 366 pp. Original pictorial green cloth stamped in black and gilt. A Very Good copy. Small chip to cloth on front board, edge rubbing, cloth at tail chipped and a little frayed, tips worn, a few small scratches. Front and rear hinges cracked, name in pencil on paste down, some light marginal reading stains and corner creases, tissue guard missing half. An unsophisticated copy of the classic American novel with fairly bright gilt.

Webster, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with mixed points. An attractive copy of this original binding that is vibrant in color with light rubbing to the panels. The binding is tight, and the boards are crisp with light wear to the spine and edges. The pages are clean, with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a sharp copy of this first edition housed in a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation. Trades and offers welcomed.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine.

New York: Charles L. Webster & Co, 1885. First Edition. Octavo; G+/No jacket; Green spine with gilt; Green cloth boards with pictorial illustration; Wear to the edges and spine; Fraying beginning at corners and along spine and edges; Some toning to pages, especially at edges; Binding sturdy; 366 pages; VW Consignment, Shelved case 2 NOTES: True first edition in green boards, with many of the most important first state points, including on page 13: "him and another man" listed incorrectly as page 88; Page 57, line 11 up: "...with the was..."; Frontispiece: cloth under bust visible & "Heliotype" imprint. Other Points: Copyright notice is bound, not tipped in; Page 283 has 'vertical fly' in illustration; Page 155 has last '5' slightly larger than other numbers. While these may indicate a second state, Ahearn notes that "Only pages 13 and 57 are important because the others were put in at random before publication, which seems to us to say that different states don't matter because they all occur before publication." Shelved Dupont Bookstore.

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1885. First edition, first printing, second state of frontispiece, and with the rare first state of the illustration at page 283 (found in the first state only in some copies in the leather bindings). Original full sheep, red and black double labels, gilt. Expertly rebacked, heavy foxing and stains in text, but a good copy in the rarest textaul state. The first printing of the first edition was 30,000 copies, of which 2,500 were in this sheep binding; but only some copies have the earliest state of page 283 (before the illustration was famously altered to look obscene). More than a century of bannings, scholarly debates, and subsequent masterpieces by other great writers have still not changed the fact that this is the great American novel. BAL 3415. Peter Parley to Penrod, pp. 75-6. Grolier American Hundred 87.

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing with the earliest First Issue points according to BAL. A beautiful copy bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's green cloth. A wonderful copy with some repair. The binding is tight with NO cocks or leans. The pages are clean with slight discoloration to the pages. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a lovely copy in collector's condition with a custom acetate dustjacket to protect the book.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Fine.

New York & London:: Charles L. Webster,, 1885. Near Fine. First American Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. This is a wonderful copy of the First US edition, final state with the following issue points: Title page is bound in; illustration list p87; "with the saw;" p155, final "5" is present in different font; p.283 trouser illustration redone and page bound-in; photogravure frontis portrait; p.l43, "L" in Col present and "b" in body corrected. Contemporary owner's signature in neat hand on ffep. 174 text illustrations. A beautiful fresh and bright copy with only very slight wear to lower corners and foot of spine. A later issue of this classic but in pristine condition.. First Edition. Orignal Green Cloth. Near Fine. 8vo..

London: Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly, 1884. First UK Edition. First Impression, first state, with publisher's catalog dated 'October, 1884.' Octavo (19.25cm); publisher's red 'S' cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt and black on spine and front cover; [i]-xvi, 438, 32pp ads; illus. Thin split along front hinge, though binding is still sound and firm; spine ends gently nudged, with a hint of sunning to spine; a Near Fine copy, with the gilt still bright and the pictorial elements unrubbed. Housed in a custom clamshell case. A presentable copy of Twain's most enduring work - the quintessential American novel. BAL 3414.

New York:: Charles L. Webster and Company,, 1885.. First edition; first printing with the following points: p. 13 in first state; p. 57 in first state; p. 155 in first state; title page a cancel; p. 283 integral; frontispiece in second state; p. 283 in State C.. publisher's decorated green cloth.. Foxing to fore-edge and preliminaries; some moderate use to cloth at the top and bottom of the spine; a very good copy with the gold decoration in attractive condition.. 8vo,.

London: Chatto & Windus, 1884. First Edition. Decorated red cloth. Typical sunning to spine with mild fraying to head and neat cloth repair to heel. Minor spotting to covers. Near Fine. The First English Edition, preceding the American edition by four months. With 174 illustrations by E.W. Kemble. BAL 3414: Sequence B with the gatherings saddle-stitched with wire staples as opposed to sewn. BAL assigns no priority to the sequences. With the publisher's catalogue insert at rear dated October 1884, per BAL.

London: Chatto and Windus, 1884. [Literature] FIRST UK EDITION, ASSOCIATION COPY, being novelist Sir Walter Besant's copy, a friend of the author and an early public champion of this book. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.xvi; 438; [34]. With 174 wood-cut illustrations by Kemble. Pictorial red cloth boards, brown floral endpapers, later adverts dated January 1885. Illustrated bookplate to pastedown "Walter Besant, M.A." An enthusiastically read copy with some leaves roughly/poorly opened, one of which (p.383) has a resulting chip/loss. Flyleaf with some abrasion caused by clumsy offset adhesive from bookplate, cloth neatly repaired to spine. Although used, this is a copy of great significance. Walter Besant was a prolific and successful novelist of the late-Victorian period. Like Charles Dickens, many of his books concerned life in London, poverty and social hardship. He was founder and first chairman of The Society of Authors and was acknowledged by Rudyard Kipling as an influence. Knighted for services to literature in 1895, he was also treasurer of the 'Atlantic Union', an association seeking to improve social relations between Britons and Americans. In 1898 Besant published a lengthy essay in Munsay's Magazine, praising this Huckleberry Finn and reckoning his choice might be 'perhaps unexpected' since it was not (at that time) 'one of the acknowledged masterpieces, or a book that had been reviewed over and over again'. Mark Twain was "delighted when Sir Walter Besant, the British novelist, critic, historian and philanthropist nominated Twain 'his favourite novelist' and Huck Finn as Twain's best book" (Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of Humanities, Yale). Twain wrote to 'Dear Sir Walter' from Vienna stating the article "makes me very proud - I have just read it in Munsey's for February" and elaborating how Besant had effectively conveyed what writers do not realise in their own work; "Thank you for compacting into words an unarticulated feeling... we often see in pictures and books things which an artist and author did not themselves know they had put there". Their mutual respect culminated in a friendship, and in June 1899 a dinner was held in Twain's honour at the Author's Club, London. After a cordial introduction from Besant, Twain gave an address in which he spoke of their personal friendship and also of friendship between England and America.esant. Bloom; Mark Twain (2009). ALS, Feb.22, Samuel L Clemens [held at New York Public Library's Berg Collection].

West Hatfield: Pennyroyal Press, 1985. leather_bound. Full green morocco by Gray Parrot, gilt cover border fillets frame front cover gilt center motif. Near fine in fine beige basket weave portfolio in matching slightly rubbed slipcase. Moser, Barry. 417 pages. Folio, 33 x 25,5 cm. Limited edition, copy 151 of 350 signed by Barry Moser in initials, with an additional suite of 49 wood engraved plates by Moser in a separate portfolio. Printed in Centaur and Arrighi type on Mohawk Letterpress, as are the engraved additional plates, an archival sheet with hand composition by Chase Twitchell. Foreword by Henry Nash Smith. Printed by Harold McGrath. Prospectus laid-in. The illustrations in the text measure six by nine inches, and printed for the original wood blocks, The plate size of the additional 49 engraved plates, 13 x 10 inches. Spine evenly sunned to brown.

Charles L Webster, 1885 Bound in the rare sheepskin and with the following points: p9 "decided" uncorrected; p57 "with the was"; p 143 the l in Col present but the b on line 7 is in broken type; p155, no second 5; p161 no 11 sig mark; p283 with the corrected illustration; frontis with Twain's bust having Karl Gerhardt Sr on shoulder. This copy recased with spine laid down and one spine label present. One leaf with repair on fore edge. Quite clean, bright and tight.

London: Chatto & Windus, 1884. First. hardcover. near fine. 174 illus. by E.W. Kemble. 8vo, red cloth, stamped in black and gold. London: Chatto & Windus, 1884. English edition, published prior to the American. This is a first issue, with ads dated October 1884. BAL 3414.

Charles L. Webster and Company, New York, 1885 First Edition, First Printing professionally re-backed on the spine preserving the original cloth. The book is bound in the original green cloth with some wear to the boards. The binding is tight with some wear to the spine and edges. The pages are clean with new matching endpapers and a few stains to several pages. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a lovely copy.. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine.