A Tramp Abroad.

by Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

$45,000 · Offered by Biblio

First edition · Signed

Hartford, Conn: American Publishing Company, 1880. First edition of Twain's classic fictionalized account of his walking tour of central and southern Europe, inscribed by him to his secretary. Octavo, original publisher's pictorial gilt-stamped brown cloth, with 328 illustrations by Walter Francis Brown, True Williams, W.W. Denslow, and with four 'pictures made by the author of this book, without outside help', engraved portrait of Twain by J.A.J. Wilcox [BAL state B, no priority], engraved frontispiece captioned ''Titian's Moses'' [BAL's second state], profusion of illustrations; advertisement for The Innocents Abroad on p. 632. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front pastedown, "Truly yours, Mark Twain." With an additional inscription below, also in Twain's hand: "The property of Miss I.V. Lyon." The recipient, Isabel Van Kleek Lyons played a pivotal role in Twain's later years, serving as his private secretary, household manager, and confidante after the death of his wife, Olivia, in 1904. Twain was deeply reliant on Lyons, once remarking, "Miss Lyon runs Clara, and Jean, and me, and the servants, and the housekeeping, and the house building, and the secretary work, and remains as extraordinarily as competent as ever." Lyons, for her part, revered Twain, referring to him as "the King" in her diary, while Twain called her "The Lioness." Their relationship grew so close that rumors of romantic intentions surfaced, though Twain, in later writings, fiercely deni

• Publisher: American Publishing Company
• Year: 1880
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: hardcover

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