[Clemens, Samuel Langhorne] | First edition, second state

[Clemens, Samuel Langhorne]

The Prince and the Pauper. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1882

8vo (218 x 165 mm). Wood-engraved frontispiece, Franklin Press imprint on verso of title-page, numerous engraved illustrations, chapter vignettes, p. 124 line 1 reading "canopy of state"; toning, occasional stray spots or fingersoiling. Publisher's green cloth (BAL state B), stamped in gilt and black, plain endpapers and edges; front hinge cracked, light rubbing at extremities, exposure at corners, head and tail of spine with a little fraying. In a quarter morocco slipcase with folding chemise.

First American edition, second state. The Prince and the Pauper—the first of Clemens's historical novels—exemplifies the author's later claim, "I have never written a book for boys; I write for grown-ups who have been boys." The story was inspired by Charlotte Yonge's Little Duke, which Clemens found in his sister-in-law's library at Quarry Farm.

REFERENCE

BAL 3402; Johnson, p. 39-41