Hawthorne, Julian

large 8vo, first edition, 2 volumes extended to 4, no. 94 of 350 copies, illustrations, extra-illustrated copy with 352 portraits and views inserted by John P. Woodbury, together with 22 autograph letters signed, one autograph note signed and one document signed, including letters by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Julian Hawthorne, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife Sophia and his daughters Rosa and Una, Oliver Wendell Holmes. Mary Howitt, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowe and Mrs Henry Wood, an autograph note signed by Edward Rawson, Secretary of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and a document note signed by Henry Stevens of Vermont, full brown morocco gilt by Macdonald & Sons, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, the other edges uncut, minor fading to spines

Christie's New York, 9 June 1992, lot 83

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A handsome extra-illustrated copy of Julian Hawthorne's biography of his father, notable at the time for his response in it to Melville's accusation that Nathaniel had a long-kept secret. An engineer as well as a writer, Julian's later life was blighted by his incarceration for mail fraud, in which he sold over three million shares to unsuspecting investors for a non-existent silver mine.