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BLACK BEAUTY: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse
by Sewell, Anna ("Translated from the Original Equine by")
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Yarmouth, Maine, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
1877. [the tale of a horse, BY a horse] London: Jarrold and Sons, n.d.[1877]. 8 pp undated ads. Original green cloth decorated in black and gilt.
First Edition of this classic tale, told in the first person by Black Beauty himself. He encounters masters both kind and cruel, and as a result the book came to be seen as the UNCLE TOM'S CABIN for animals' rights -- in fact, the first American edition, which came out thirteen years later, was published by the American Humane Society. The tale has been filmed numerous times, beginning in 1910 and continuing in 1946, 1971 and 1994. Anna Sewell (1820-1878)... had been crippled by a leg-injury since she was fourteen years of age [resulting in her constant need for horse-drawn carriages], and by the time she came to write BLACK BEAUTY [from 1871 until 1877], her one and only book, she was bedridden [and in declining health: she dictated most of the tale to her mother and, at the end too weak of voice for that, wrote on little slips of paper which her mother transcribed]. She died a few months after its publication, too early to realise the extent of its phenomenal success. [Quayle] Anna Sewell received just twenty pounds from the publisher, for all rights to the book; the book did not sell very well at first, but after it received positive reviews from anti-cruelty groups, sales took off. This copy is Carter's binding "C", which is the most frequently-seen binding -- with the front-cover gilt medallion of a horse's head looking left. Bindings "A" and "B" are noted mainly on copies that were inscribed by Anna Sewell or by her mother (after the author's death), so it is possible that they were special presentation bindings; however there is also at least one known copy in this binding "C" that is inscribed by the author. This is a near-fine copy (volume slightly askew as usual, discreet repair at the top end of the front joint and at the bottom end of the rear joint). There is scarcely any other external wear, the original endpapers are intact (the front one bears a 1922 inscription), and the leaves are free of foxing. Carter MBV pp 37-38; Quayle pp 96-97. In all, a highly-desirable copy, housed in a beautiful morocco-backed clamshell case.
First Edition of this classic tale, told in the first person by Black Beauty himself. He encounters masters both kind and cruel, and as a result the book came to be seen as the UNCLE TOM'S CABIN for animals' rights -- in fact, the first American edition, which came out thirteen years later, was published by the American Humane Society. The tale has been filmed numerous times, beginning in 1910 and continuing in 1946, 1971 and 1994. Anna Sewell (1820-1878)... had been crippled by a leg-injury since she was fourteen years of age [resulting in her constant need for horse-drawn carriages], and by the time she came to write BLACK BEAUTY [from 1871 until 1877], her one and only book, she was bedridden [and in declining health: she dictated most of the tale to her mother and, at the end too weak of voice for that, wrote on little slips of paper which her mother transcribed]. She died a few months after its publication, too early to realise the extent of its phenomenal success. [Quayle] Anna Sewell received just twenty pounds from the publisher, for all rights to the book; the book did not sell very well at first, but after it received positive reviews from anti-cruelty groups, sales took off. This copy is Carter's binding "C", which is the most frequently-seen binding -- with the front-cover gilt medallion of a horse's head looking left. Bindings "A" and "B" are noted mainly on copies that were inscribed by Anna Sewell or by her mother (after the author's death), so it is possible that they were special presentation bindings; however there is also at least one known copy in this binding "C" that is inscribed by the author. This is a near-fine copy (volume slightly askew as usual, discreet repair at the top end of the front joint and at the bottom end of the rear joint). There is scarcely any other external wear, the original endpapers are intact (the front one bears a 1922 inscription), and the leaves are free of foxing. Carter MBV pp 37-38; Quayle pp 96-97. In all, a highly-desirable copy, housed in a beautiful morocco-backed clamshell case.
Synopsis
First published under the full title: Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the Equine, by Jarrold and Sons London in 1877, the novel now known as simply Black Beauty was written by English author Anna Sewell. The first American editions from 1890 have the added title ' The “Uncle Tom's Cabin” of the Horse' as promoters of the novel hoped it would do for animal welfare what Stowe's novel did for the abolition of slavery. Anna Sewell was born in 1820 in Great Yarmouth, England. She suffered an accident as a child that left her crippled and dependent on carriage horses as her main source of mobility. She began writing Black Beauty in 1871, and continued through 1877 though her health was deteriorating. In December 1876 she wrote in her diary "I have been confined to the house and to my sofa, from time to time, when I am able, been writing what I think will turn out a little book, its special aim being to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses". Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was a successful children's author, and Anna helped edit her books, and later her mother helped Anna transcribe Black Beauty . An animal autobiography, told by the magnificent black horse himself, this is the dramatic and heartwarming tale of Black Beauty's life-from his idyllic days on a country squire's estate to his harsh fate as a London cab horse. Although not originally intended as a children's novel, but for people who work with horses, it soon became a children's classic. Two years after the release of Black Beauty in the United States there were one million copies in circulation. Today Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books in history, with over 50 million copies sold in 50 different languages. The earliest dated inscribed copies are Christmas 1877. Although the book was an immediate bestseller, Sewell lived just long enough to see her first and only novel become a success – she died on 25 April 1878.
Read More: Identifying first editions of BLACK BEAUTY: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse
Reviews
On Sep 8 2005, Marydeme said:
While living at Squire Gordon's country estate, the spirited young horse, Black Beauty, is well taken care of an happy. But when the squire is forced to sell off his horses, Black Beauty's life changes as he is passed from one curel master to another. After much hardship and perseverance, Black Beauty finds a home full of love and kindness.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Sumner & Stillman
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 15181
- Title
- BLACK BEAUTY: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse
- Author
- Sewell, Anna ("Translated from the Original Equine by")
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Date Published
- 1877
- Keywords
- Horses; Lady
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction (19th Century); Books By Women;
Terms of Sale
Sumner & Stillman
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Sumner & Stillman
Biblio member since 2009
Yarmouth, Maine
About Sumner & Stillman
Founded in 1980, Sumner & Stillman is a small family business providing personal service in the buying and selling of literary first editions of the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA) for over 30 years.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
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- Inscribed
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- 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...
- A.N.
- The book is pristine and free of any defects, in the same condition as ...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- 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...
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