This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/25/2024
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Pair of First Edition, First Issues in Original Cloth, including: The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852. 8vo. xi, 273 pp [publisher’s ads dated January 1852]. And The Marble Faun: or, the Romance of Monte Beni. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1860. 8vo. xi, 283 [publisher’s ads dated February 1860]; 284 pp. Two volumes. Both in publisher’s full brown cloth, boards ruled in blind with blind central motifs, spines ruled in blind and lettered in gilt, yellow or brown endleaves (minor edgewear, soiling to bindings, previous owner’s signatures or gift inscriptions). Both titles are fine. FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST ISSUES WITH ALL FIRST ISSUE POINTS. Nathaniel Hawthorne, long recognized as one of the greatest of American writers, first journeyed to Europe in 1853 as American Consul in Liverpool (Drabble, 443). After resigning his post he traveled to Rome, and his experiences there served as the inspiration for The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni, also known by the British title Transformation, was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. The Marble Faun, written on the eve of the American Civil War, is set in a fantastical Italy. The romance mixes elements of a fable, pastoral, gothic novel, and travel guide. BAL 7607, 7621.