The House of the Seven Gables
Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1851.
First edition, first printing in BAL's binding A, with publisher's catalogue dated March 1851 in state A and Clark's line batter. 4, 344 pp. Publisher's brown ribbed cloth stamped in blind, lettered in gilt on spine, coated yellow endpapers. Very Good with light mottling and moderate rubbing to cloth, chipping at head and tail with spine lining exposed, and several small dampstains to textblock edges slightly affecting margins. Ownership signature in old hand to first ad page, light toning and scattered foxing throughout. BAL 7604, Clark A17.1.a.
The first edition of an American classic. Hawthorne's dark family saga, inspired by his cousin's 17th century mansion in Salem, is a forerunner of the modern haunted house genre.
Price: $1,500