Books

The Scarlet Letter, a romance Nathaniel Hawthorne Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. 1850. 322 pages. Hardcover. Bound in blindstamped brown boards with gold lettering on the spine. This is the standard Ticknor, Reed, and Fields (later Ticknor and Fields) binding, familiar to collectors of American Literature. Original boards and spine have been professionally restored. Spine rebacked with sympathetic brown cloth beneath original spine strip. New endpapers added, but original booksellers tag retained on the inside front cover (Merrill & Young, booksellers & stationers. Manchester N.H.). 4 pages of ads reinserted at the front. This set of TRF ads is dated March 1, 1850. Binding is good, clean and tight. Pages clean and square with no marks and no foxing. Early ownership signature in pencil (lightly done) F.A. Brown on first original blank. First printing of the first edition. The publication points are underlined (lightly) in pencil, except where noted below. Page 21, line 20: reduplicate for repudiate. Final page of Table of Contents numbered iv . Page 41, line 5: characters for characters . Page 100, line 2: mortal for moral. Page 102, line 22: tobelieve for to believe. (this one not marked with pencil). Page 132, line 29: catechism for catechisms . Page 321, the number 21 printed below the word there on the bottom line. The Scarlet Letter was Hawthorne s greatest work and stands as one of the high water marks of nineteenth century American Literature. It was published in an edition of 2,500 copies, which was a large edition for the time. It sold well. Hawthorne, who had published only a few books of short stories and an anonymous novelette, saw himself raised to the highest rank of American men of letters. It is one of only a handful of novels of the era still familiar to students everywhere. This copy is in very good condition. Original covers and spine are quite scarce and they are retained here (although in restored rather than original form). Original advertisements. Tightly bounds. New endpapers and headbands (red and green) added during restoration. Please email with questions or to request photos. (stored in the vault).

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is considered one of Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous works. It is a historical romance set in the puritanical Massachusetts Bay Colony during the mid-17th century.