THOREAU, HENRY DAVID A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Boston and Cambridge: James Munroe...1849. 8vo, original brown cloth, stamped in blind, spine gilt-lettered, partly unopened, the slightest wear at extreme ends of spine and upper fore-corners, cloth folding case. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, of the author's first book in the presentation binding (BAL's Binding B), with three lines of dropped text at bottom of p. 396 as in all copies. BAL 20104; Borst A1.1.a. A fine, very crisp copy, with the publisher's gilt imprint at heel of spine -- usually rubbed away -- intact. A Week , published at Thoreau's expense, fared poorly: of the 1,000 copies printed, 706 copies (256 bound and 450 in sheets) were returned to him on 28 October 1853 "to spend the next nine years in his attic bedroom, with Thoreau occasionally selling copies or distributing them to friends" (Borst). In his Journal entry of 28 October 1853 Thoreau commented on his book's lack of success: "I have now a library of nearly 900 volumes, over 700 of which I wrote myself. It is not well that the author should behold the fruits of his labor, my works are piled upon one side of my chamber half as high as my head..." In 1862 Ticknor and Fields bought the remaining copies and had the 450 sets of sheets bound up with a new title-page (constituting the second issue).
THOREAU, HENRY DAVID A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Boston and Cambridge: James Munroe...1849. 8vo, original brown cloth, stamped in blind, spine gilt-lettered, partly unopened, the slightest wear at extreme ends of spine and upper fore-corners, cloth folding case. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, of the author's first book in the presentation binding (BAL's Binding B), with three lines of dropped text at bottom of p. 396 as in all copies. BAL 20104; Borst A1.1.a. A fine, very crisp copy, with the publisher's gilt imprint at heel of spine -- usually rubbed away -- intact. A Week , published at Thoreau's expense, fared poorly: of the 1,000 copies printed, 706 copies (256 bound and 450 in sheets) were returned to him on 28 October 1853 "to spend the next nine years in his attic bedroom, with Thoreau occasionally selling copies or distributing them to friends" (Borst). In his Journal entry of 28 October 1853 Thoreau commented on his book's lack of success: "I have now a library of nearly 900 volumes, over 700 of which I wrote myself. It is not well that the author should behold the fruits of his labor, my works are piled upon one side of my chamber half as high as my head..." In 1862 Ticknor and Fields bought the remaining copies and had the 450 sets of sheets bound up with a new title-page (constituting the second issue).
/117/1207117.jpg "Source: Bonhams | Skinner")
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
