CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE. Following the Equator. A Journey Around the World. Hartford: The American Publishing Company 1897. TWO VOLUMES, 8vo, original blue cloth, each front cover with rectangular box stamped in gold, blue, grey, etc., with picture of elephant against an Indian bakground, spine unlettered and unstamped, rear covers undecorated, ends of spines and fore-corners a little rubbed, half morocco folding case. THE ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION IN TWO VOLUMES, undoubtedly a trial set, consisting of the sheets of the published trade edition (which was in one volume) bound up in two volumes with identical inserted title-pages with the single imprint (and without a volume number), with the frontispiece and other illustrations in the text. Vol. 1 contains the text through p. 356 (the end of Chapter XXXVIII); Vol. 2 continues the text through p. 357 (the beginning of Chapter XXXIX, Twain in India) through the end of the book at p. 712. With the exception of the spines being plain, the bindings match that on the published copies. Early signature in ink of "E.P. Kellogg" on front free endpapers of each volume. This unique set was too recently discovered for inclusion in BAL (but it was examined by Michael Winship in 1985 and notes are in their files of addenda and corrigenda to BAL). In very good condition. During the writing of Following the Equator (at 712 pages, his longest book) Clemens considered publishing the work in two volumes. In a letter of 2 February 1897 to his friend and business adviser Henry Huddleston Rogers, Clemens writes: "...I want to make a suggestion to Bliss [of The American Publishing Company] -- a proposition. You see, this book is stringing out. I finished it yesterday, but I have covered only about half the trip. 180,000 words does not allow me room enough. So I think of going on and making it a 2-volume book of 140,000 words each -- say 450 pages each, and sell the volumes (independently) separately at $3 or $3.50 each, and the set at $5 or $6. The first volume would contain the Pacific Ocean, Fiji, Honolulu, Australasia and a day in Ceylon. The second volume would contain India, the Mauritius, South Africa and -- no, not the Bermudas -- those other islands, I can't recall the name at the moment. Oh -- Madeira . What do you think of it?..." ( Mark Twain's Correspsondence with...Rogers , ed. L. Leary, no. 155). Again, on 5 March 1897, Clemens writes to Rogers: "...If I had time I believe I would make a 2-volume book of it, for the canvasser would rather have that than a 1-vol, and a good canvasser will take hold of a 2 vol when he wouldn't the other. But I believe there is not time..." ( ibid ., no. 158). Most probably at Clemens' request this trial set was made, without lettering or stampings on the spines, to see how Following the Equator would look in a two-volume form. (2)
CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE. Following the Equator. A Journey Around the World. Hartford: The American Publishing Company 1897. TWO VOLUMES, 8vo, original blue cloth, each front cover with rectangular box stamped in gold, blue, grey, etc., with picture of elephant against an Indian bakground, spine unlettered and unstamped, rear covers undecorated, ends of spines and fore-corners a little rubbed, half morocco folding case. THE ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION IN TWO VOLUMES, undoubtedly a trial set, consisting of the sheets of the published trade edition (which was in one volume) bound up in two volumes with identical inserted title-pages with the single imprint (and without a volume number), with the frontispiece and other illustrations in the text. Vol. 1 contains the text through p. 356 (the end of Chapter XXXVIII); Vol. 2 continues the text through p. 357 (the beginning of Chapter XXXIX, Twain in India) through the end of the book at p. 712. With the exception of the spines being plain, the bindings match that on the published copies. Early signature in ink of "E.P. Kellogg" on front free endpapers of each volume. This unique set was too recently discovered for inclusion in BAL (but it was examined by Michael Winship in 1985 and notes are in their files of addenda and corrigenda to BAL). In very good condition. During the writing of Following the Equator (at 712 pages, his longest book) Clemens considered publishing the work in two volumes. In a letter of 2 February 1897 to his friend and business adviser Henry Huddleston Rogers, Clemens writes: "...I want to make a suggestion to Bliss [of The American Publishing Company] -- a proposition. You see, this book is stringing out. I finished it yesterday, but I have covered only about half the trip. 180,000 words does not allow me room enough. So I think of going on and making it a 2-volume book of 140,000 words each -- say 450 pages each, and sell the volumes (independently) separately at $3 or $3.50 each, and the set at $5 or $6. The first volume would contain the Pacific Ocean, Fiji, Honolulu, Australasia and a day in Ceylon. The second volume would contain India, the Mauritius, South Africa and -- no, not the Bermudas -- those other islands, I can't recall the name at the moment. Oh -- Madeira . What do you think of it?..." ( Mark Twain's Correspsondence with...Rogers , ed. L. Leary, no. 155). Again, on 5 March 1897, Clemens writes to Rogers: "...If I had time I believe I would make a 2-volume book of it, for the canvasser would rather have that than a 1-vol, and a good canvasser will take hold of a 2 vol when he wouldn't the other. But I believe there is not time..." ( ibid ., no. 158). Most probably at Clemens' request this trial set was made, without lettering or stampings on the spines, to see how Following the Equator would look in a two-volume form. (2)
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
