Books

First US edition, first state, with the text block measuring 1 1/8 inches and the title leaf conjugate, not tipped in, and Twain's facsimile signature to the frontispiece. It was originally published in the UK the same year. Octavo. Original brown cloth, titles to spine and front board gilt, arabesque designs in black, buff endpapers, edges speckled red. Housed in a custom quarter morocco and brown cloth pull-off box. Portrait frontispiece with tissue-guard, title page printed red and black, marginal illustrations throughout. A little bubbling to front cover, contents fresh. An excellent copy in bright cloth. BAL 3442.

"The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson" is a novel by Mark Twain set in the antebellum South. The story centers on two infants, one white and one black, switched at birth. Pudd'nhead Wilson, a keen but socially awkward lawyer, plays a key role in uncovering the switch. The novel explores themes of racial identity, slavery, and social injustice. Twain employs his trademark wit to satirize societal norms while delivering a poignant commentary on prejudice and the tragic consequences of mistaken identities.