Tanglewood Tales
by HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Stevenson, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
First American edition, first printing of Hawthorne's final children's book. A spectacular American literary presentation copy inscribed by Nathaniel Hawthorne to Oliver Wendell Holmes: "O.W. Holmes from his friend N.H."
Holmes wrote about Tanglewood Tales with great enthusiasm in a letter to its publisher, James T. Fields: "Hawthorne's book has been not devoured, but bolted by my children. I have not yet had a chance at it, but I don't doubt I shall read it with as much gusto as they, when my turn comes. When you write to him, thank him if you please for me, for I suppose he will hardly expect any formal acknowledgment" (September 6, 1853).
The two were friends for many years. Holmes served as Hawthorne's pallbearer in May 1864. The next month he wrote in The Atlantic, "Our literature could ill spare the rich ripe autumn of such a life as Hawthorne's, but he has left enough to keep his name in remembrance as long as the language in which he shaped his deep imaginations is spoken by human lips."
Inscribed copies of Tanglewood Tales are rare at auction, with no other examples appearing since 1974. This volume, inscribed by Hawthorne to Holmes, must be counted as one of the best nineteenth-century American literary presentation copies in private hands.
BAL 7614 (first printing, with only Boston Stereotype Foundry on the copyright page). Clark A22.2a.
Original green cloth. Spine ends chipped, rear joint repaired. Half morocco case.
Provenance: 1. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., inscribed by Nathaniel Hawthorne; 2. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., with his calling card inscribed to his nephew, presenting the book as a Christmas gift: "Ned with love Merry Christmas from his uncle Wendell."
Synopsis
Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls , published in1853, is a book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, a sequel to A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It is a re-writing of well-known Greek myths in a volume for children. The book includes the myths of: Theseus and the Minotaur (Chapter : "The Minotaur") Antaeus and the Pygmies (Chapter: "The Pygmies") Dragon's Teeth (Chapter: "The Dragon's Teeth") Circe's Palace (Chapter: "Circe's Palace") Proserpina, Ceres, Pluto, and the Pomegranate Seed (Chapter: "The Pomegranate Seed") Jason and the Golden Fleece (Chapter: "The Golden Fleece")
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Details
- Bookseller
- 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 42820800
- Title
- Tanglewood Tales
- Author
- HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed, and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1853
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
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About the Seller
19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
About 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- 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....