[Literature] Twain, Mark. [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1834 - 1910)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade)
New York: Charles Webster. 1885. First American edition, first issue. 8vo; 366 pages. Publisher's pictorial decorated green cloth binding, rebacked, titles to spine and front cover in gold and black. Illustrated throughout with 173 illustrations by E. W. Kemble, photogravure portrait of Clemens by Karl Gerhardt. Rebacked, with the original spine laid down. A few light edge stains or foxing spots in margins, 1.5-inch tear to lower margin of p. 155 and small tear to rear endpage, small name plate and warm gift iscription on first free endpages, dated April 14th, 1885 ("with best wishes from his Papa, for many happy returns of the day"). Overall a good copy of this classic American book. BAL 3415; Grolier, American, 87; Johnson, pp. 43–50; Kevin MacDonnell, “Huck Finn among the Issue-Mongers,” Firsts; The Book Collector’s Magazine, vol. 8, no. 9 (September 1998), pp. 28–35.The traditional and most important first issue points are all present here, as well as additional points: [2(1):] The cancelled title leaf shows copyright dated 1884; [1:] page 13: "Him and another Man" listed at page 88; [1:] page 57, 11th line from the bottom reads: "with the was"; [4:] page 283-84 is a conjugate, illustration with straight pant-fly; [3:] page 155 with final "5" in a different font and extending slightly below the first two numbers; [1:] page 161, no signature mark "11"; blank final leaf 238; [1:] frontispiece portrait showing drapery under the bust and imprint of the Heliotype Printing Company. Further first state points not identified in BAL include heading for chapter 6 reads "Decided" (later corrected to "Decides") on p9; page 143 with "l" missing from "Col. " at top of illustration; line 7 from the top: part of b in "body" is missing.
Written over an eight-year period, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was harshly criticized from the moment of publication, attacked for its “blood-curdling humor,” immorality, coarseness and profanity. It nevertheless emerged as one of the defining novels of American literature, prompting Ernest Hemingway to declare: “All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain. It’s the best book we’ve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing since.” (6889)
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