[CLEMENS, Samuel Langhorne ("Mark Twain") (1835-1910)]. Chapters from My Autobiography. New York: North American Review

5 volumes (of 6), royal 8vo (235 x 165 mm). (Lacking Vol. I). Manuscript title-pages and contents leaf in each volume, list of extra illustrations at end of Vol. VI. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 570 ENGRAVINGS (several signed by the artist), PROOFS, AUTOGRAPHED AND TYPED LETTERS, CLIPPED SIGNATURES, ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC. Including 145 engravings and illustrations after drawings of Mark Twain, 2 clipped-signatures (“Mark Twain) and (“Sincerely Yours / S.L. Clemens”) and an autograph envelope in Mark Twain’s hand. Other notable autographed material includes: CARNAGIE, Andrew (1835-1919). Autograph portrait signed (“Andrew Carnegie”). -- CLEMENS, Clara (1874-1962). Autograph letter signed (“Clara Clemens”) to another Clemens regarding her father, Mark Twain, and to return any packages beloning to him to Harpers. -- EMERSON, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882). Clipped signature (“R. Waldo Emerson”). -- GERHARDT, Karl (1853-1940). Autograph letter signed (“Karl Gerhardt”) to C.A. King, regarding the famous photogravure of the sculpted bust of Twain in the first edition of Twain’s “Huck Finn” and where the original bust was located. Gerhardt states that he gave a copy of it to Charles Dudley Warner and the “original of course to M.T.”. -- GRANT, Ulysses S. (1822-1885). Clipped signature (“U.S. Grant / Lt. Gen. U.S.A.”). -- HARTE, Bret (1836-1902). Clipped signature (“Bret Harte”). -- KELLER, Helen (1880-1968). Autograph portrait signed (“Yours Sincerely / Hellen Keller”). -- LONGFELLOW, Henry W. (1807-1882). Clipped autograph note signed (“Yours Truly / Henry W. Longfellow / 1878”). -- STOWE, Harriet Beecher (1811-1896). Clipped autograph note signed (“Truly Yours / H. B. Stowe”), dated 2 April 1885. -- And many others. Complete list of extra material upon request.

Contemporary brown niger gilt with double fillet frames, cornerpieces within, upper covers with central gilt devices of a corncob pipe and Twain’s signature in facsimile, spines in 6 compartments with raised bands, gilt lettering in two, gilt fillet frames in all, top edges gilt, gilt turn-ins, silk moiré endpapers (some light rubbing to joints, else fine); four original printed wrappers bound in at end of Vol. VI. Provenance: Numerous ephemeral items laid in including newspaper clippings and handlists of the extra material. Includes a typed list and note of “information concerning my books” which notes several of the autograph material was signed by the persons upon written request by the original owner of this set. Another list is on letterhead of Mrs. Arthur B. Baylis of Evanston, IL.

A UNIQUE SET, FINELY ILLUSTRATED with many rare engravings and autograph material of characters associated with Twain including close friends, family, and authors. Includes text of the 21 of the 25 numbers published serially in “North American Review” and one chapter “Death of Jean” in “Harper’s Magazine”.