The Scarlet Letter
Boston: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, 1850.
First edition, only printing, with textual errors present. 4, iv, 322 pp. Bound in publisher's brown ribbed cloth decorated in blind with spine lettered in gilt, yellow coated endpapers; publisher's ads dated March 1, 1850 inserted between front endpapers. Near Fine with light wear to covers and mottling to cloth, light toning and occasional foxing to contents (more pronounced on advertisement pages), and pencil traces and bookseller inscriptions to endpapers. Housed in a custom chemise slipcase, brown cloth over quarter leather titled in gilt, with very light rubbing. Clark A16.1.
A superb copy of one of the most widely printed and acclaimed American novels of all time, the story of a woman's punishment for adultery in 17th century Boston. Hawthorne had labored in obscurity for 20 years, but The Scarlet Letter was an instant bestseller and is now standard reading for schoolchildren.
Price: $13,500