The Writings.

by TWAIN, Mark.

$44,457 · Offered by Biblio

Signed

New York: Gabriel Wells,, 1922-25. Signed by Twain The Definitive Edition, number 820 of 1,024 numbered sets signed by the author on the front blank as "Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain" and with the limitation leaf additionally signed by Twain's friend and biographer, Albert Bigelow Paine. This is an exceptional copy - remaining in fine condition in the original deluxe bindings - of the most complete of all the collected editions of Twain's works. The edition includes an autographed flyleaf in Mark Twain's hand from a stock recently discovered in the Harper & Brothers vaults, placing it in the somewhat rarified category of posthumously signed limited editions, something that would no doubt have amused the author himself. The rare book seller Gabriel Wells purchased from Collier & Son the rights to a 35-volume edition of Mark Twain's works for $200,000. The circumstances surrounding the rediscovery of the autographed sheets remain unclear, but Albert Bigelow Paine stated that Twain had signed them in 1906 in anticipation of a new uniform edition of his works. The Definitive Edition incorporates many of the original illustrations and engraved portrait frontispieces used in the 1899 Autograph Edition, although the artists received no credit. It was printed on Old Enfold paper by the Plimpton Press of Norwood, Massachusetts, with a circular "Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens" watermark. Three years later, in 1925, Albert Bigelow Paine's two-volume edition of Mark Twain's Autobiography was ad

• Year: 1922
• Binding: hardcover

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