The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain, Mark [Clemens, Samuel L.] - 1879

Hartford, Conn: The American Publishing Company, 1879. First American Edition, Second Issue. Hardcover. Good. True Williams. 274, [2] pages. Some endpaper discoloration. Some cover wear and soiling. Ink name of previous owner on fep. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens) is a popular novel about a young boy growing up in the antebellum South on the Mississippi River in the town of St. Petersberg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, a town of Twain's youth. Tom Sawyer satirizes adult conventions to paint an idyllic picture of boyhood life. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the novel, Tom Sawyer has several adventures, often with his friend Huckleberry Finn. Originally a commercial failure, the book ended up being the best selling of any of Twain's works during his lifetime. Though overshadowed by its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the book is considered by many to be a masterpiece of American literature. It was one of the first novels to be written on a typewriter. A fun-loving boy, Tom skips school to go swimming and is made to whitewash his aunt's fence for the entirety of the next day, Saturday, as punishment. In one of the most famous scenes in American literature, Tom cleverly persuades the various neighborhood children to trade him small trinkets and treasures for the "privilege" of doing his tedious work, using reverse psychology to convince them it is an enjoyable activity. Tom falls in love with Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town and the daughter of a prominent judge. Tom pursues Becky, eventually persuading her to get engaged by kissing him. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter often called "The Great American Novel". In November 1875 Twain gave the manuscript to Elisha Bliss of the American Publishing Company, who sent it to True Williams for the illustrations. Truman W. "True" Williams (March 22, 1839 - November 23, 1897) was an American artist known as the most prolific illustrator to Mark Twain's books and novels. He illustrated the first edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and was thus the first to visually portray such characters as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He was also sole illustrator of Twain's Sketches, New and Old and primary illustrator of Roughing It and The Innocents Abroad. Working with a number of publishers he also illustrated works by writers Bill Nye, George W. Peck, Joaquin Miller, and others. A little later, Twain had the text quickly published at Chatto and Windus of London, in June 1876, but without illustration. Pirate editions appeared very quickly in Canada and Germany. The American Publishing Company finally published its edition in December 1876, which was the first illustrated edition of Tom Sawyer. There are several 'states' of the First Edition, First printing. This copy was printed in 1879. It is represented by some book dealers and bibliographers as a First Edition, second issue, since it is from the same publisher and with an identical binding, A second edition from this publisher is listed as coming out in 1889. These two editions (British and American) differ slightly. After completing his manuscript, Twain had a copy made of it. It is this copy which was read and annotated by his friend William Dean Howells. Howells and Twain corresponded through fairly informal, handwritten letters discussing many aspects of his works and manuscripts; language choices, character development, as well as racial development and depiction. Twain then made his own corrections based on Howells' comments which he later incorporated in the original manuscript, but some corrections escaped him. The English edition was based on this corrected copy, while the illustrated American edition was based on the original manuscript. To further complicate matters, Twain was personally concerned with the revision of the proofs of the American edition, which he did not do for the English edition. The American edition is therefore considered the authoritative edition.