Twice-Told Tales

Boston: American Stationers' Company, 1837. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Case Fine. 8vo. Pp. [4], 12-234, [16] of publisher's advertising. Rib-embossed blue-green publisher's cloth, gilt stamped titles in frame on the spine, publisher's circular device on the title page. Light stains to cloth and spine a trifle sunned, corners crisp with edges minimally rubbed, hinges and gutters intact, top edge dust-soiled, light scattered foxing. Name of early owner R. Dodge in ink on FFEP. Bookplate of Lawrence Waters Jenkins.Custom drop-down-back clamshell case, polished dark green calf over dark green cloth, gilt stamped titles and rules, five raised bands, gray Canson art paper lining. First edition, only printing. This collection was the first appearance of Hawthorne stories under his name. The relatively small first edition of 1000 was slow to sell but favorably reviewed and immediately won him high standing. (The publisher did not survive the Panic of 1837.) An attractive copy in an enchanting binding variant of this scarce edition.Fellow Salem native Lawrence Waters Jenkins was Curator of Ethnology at the Peabody Museum 1901-1949; his impressive bookplate features the image of a club from the Marquesas Islands.CLARK, A2.1; BAL, 7581. Cover is now protected in a removable, clear archival sleeve. (Inventory #: 7636)