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Twice-Told Tales
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804-1864)
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Mild scattered foxing, some extremity rubs and shallow chips to cloth along board edges. Hinges not cracked but joints have a fe
- Seller
-
Annapolis, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: American Stationers Co, 1837. First edition. Original cloth over boards. Duodecimo. 334 pages (with 4 pages ads at front, 12 pages ads at back). Mild scattered foxing, some extremity rubs and shallow chips to cloth along board edges. Hinges not cracked but joints have a few splits.. Hawthorne's third publication in book form and the first to bear his name. This collection of 18 stories won immediate recognition for its author, though all had previously appeared in annuals or magazines. Hawthorne himself assembled and edited them for this collection. <br /> <br /> The included story "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe" is very close to being a detective story in the purest sense. Indeed, none other than Edgar Allan Poe, (whose "Murders in the Rue Morgue," published four years later, and often credited with the first modern detective story) called Hawthorne's story "vividly original and managed most dexterously." <br /> <br /> One of just 1,000 copies printed. Tall copy with bright original gilt on spine. In custom black Morocco-backed cloth slipcase with bands and gilt titles to spine, with book in inner chemise. Two prior owner bookplates--1) that of Carolyn Wells, prolific author, and co-author of the first bibliography of Walt Whitman and 2) that of early 20th century Unitarian minister, Louis H. Buckshorn.<br /> <br /> A very well-preserved copy of this scarce early Hawthorne book.<br /> <br /> Ref. CLARK A2.1; BAL 7581.
Synopsis
Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a collection of short stories, most of which are infused with a very New England gothic tone. The first was published in the spring of 1837, and the second in 1842. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals. The title, Twice-Told Tales , was drawn from William Shakespeare's The Life and Death of King John (Act 3, scene 4): "Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, / Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man." The piece is composed of sketches and tales, mostly allegories and moralistic fantasies including "The Gray Champion," "The Wedding Knell," "The Minister's Black Veil," "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe," "Wakefield," "The Great Carbuncle," "The Prophetic Pictures," "The Hollow of the Three Hills," "Fancy's Show Box," and "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment."
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Details
- Bookseller
- Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1351
- Title
- Twice-Told Tales
- Author
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804-1864)
- Format/Binding
- Original cloth over boards. Duodecimo. 334 pages (with 4 pages ads at front, 12 pages ads at back)
- Book Condition
- Used - Mild scattered foxing, some extremity rubs and shallow chips to cloth along board edges. Hinges not cracked but joints have a fe
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- American Stationers Co
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1837
- Keywords
- first editions, high spots, puritans, witchcraft, ameircan classics, collectable books, collectible, detective fiction, short stories
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction & Literature;
Terms of Sale
Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB
Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed, and any book is returnable for a full refund if not as described. We accept payment by American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, PayPal, check, or money order. We pack and ship in corrugated cardboard boxes for protection in transit. Shipping costs for Priority Mail, international destinations, or heavy items occasionally need to be adjusted, in which case we will contact you for approval. Institutions and libraries may request an invoice. We can email digital photographs of any available book upon request.
About the Seller
Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB
Biblio member since 2006
Annapolis, Maryland
About Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB
We buy and sell quality used and out-of-print books, with an emphasis on Americana, Military and Naval History, and Nautical material. But we have many good books in a variety of subjects. We are located in historic Annapolis, Maryland.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- BAL
- Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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