Thoreau, Henry D.:

$11,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS. First edition, first issue, of Thoreau's first book, in the trade binding (BAL's binding A). The book recounts the story of a river journey taken by Thoreau and his late brother John in 1839, mostly as a launching-off point for philosophical musings on a wide variety of topics.This copy without the the pencil corrections and additions that occur in a few copies. Thoreau paid for its publication in an edition of 1000 copies, of which 706 copies (both bound and in sheets) reverted to the author after dismal sales. Of special note is the presence of the terminal advert leaf noting that Walden "will soon be published." The poor sales of this title were, in part, cause for its delay until 1854. Eventually, in 1862, Ticknor and Fields acquired the remainder of bound and unbound copies, and 500 copies were equipped with a cancel title-leaf, constituting the second issue. A second, corrected edition was not called for until 1868.

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