Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. Boston: John P. Jewett; Cleveland: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1852

2 volumes, 8vo (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.; 190 x115 mm). Title-page vignettes, 6 engraved plates; light toning to title-page in vol. 1,  spotting and staining chiefly marginal, less so in vol. 2, plates opposite 2:198 and 2:288 foxed, pp. 1:99–106 loose but still sewn to text block by a thread, 2:111–118 held by only 2 threads with browning to fore-edge of p. 118, 1:312 browned, 2:65–68 detached, edges browned. Publisher's purple cloth (BAL's binding B), gilt emblem on front covers within blind-stamped frame, back covers blocked in blind, spines lettered gilt with blind ornamentation, cream endpapers; bindings slightly cocked, spines and edges of boards sunned, endpapers in vol. 2 foxed, mylar sleeve hinged to front pastedown, a few tiny nicks to vol. 2 spine ends, light spotting to front cover of vol. 1 and a few light stains to covers of vol. 2. Felt-lined red cloth chemise, quarter brown morocco slipcase.

A. L. Skinner (early stamp or stencil on flyleaf in each volume) — Jean Hersholt (bookplate in chemise and shelf label in vol. 1; sale, Parke-Bernet, 23 March 1954, lot 766) — Mrs. Philip D. Sang (sale, Sotheby's New York, 27 March 1985, lot 136)

BAL 19343; Grolier, American 61; Negro History 94; PMM 332; Sabin 92457

2 volumes, 8vo (7 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.; 190 x115 mm). Title-page vignettes, 6 engraved plates; spotting and staining chiefly marginal, less so in vol. 2, plates opposite 2:198 and 2:288 foxed, pp. 1:99–106 loose but still sewn to text block by a thread, 2:111–118 heldd by only 2 threads with browning to fore-edge of p. 118, 1:312 browned, 2:65–68 detached, edges browned. Publisher's purple cloth (BAL's binding B), gilt emblem on front covers within blind-stamped frame, back covers blocked in blind, spines lettered gilt with blind ornamentation, cream endpapers; bindings slightly cocked, spines and edges of boards sunned, endpapers in vol. 2 foxed, mylar sleeve hinged to front pastedown, a few tiny nicks to vol. 2 spine ends, light spottong to front cover of vol. 1 and a few light stains to covers of vol. 2. Felt-lined red cloth chemise, quarter brown morocco slipcase.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The Hersholt-Sang copy. First edition, first printing of Stowe's impassioned antislavery novel, which she had been inspired to write after passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law.  Uncle Tom's Cabin was first published in serial form in the abolitionist periodical National Era. Originally it had been Stowe's intention to complete the work in a few issues of the magazine, but the public's interest in the story was so strong that she continued it for ten months (5 June 1851–April 1852). Prior to the printing of the last two serial installments, J. P. Jewett issued the two-volume work (20 March 1852).

The novel was a runaway sensation, with over 120,000 copies sold by October 1852. "To those engaged in fighting slavery it appeared as an indictment of all the evils inherent in the system they opposed; to the pro-slavery forces it was a slanderous attack on 'the Southern way of life' ... Whatever its weaknesses as a literary work—structural looseness and excess of sentiment among them—the social impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin on the United States was greater than that of any book before or since" (PMM).