- 178
Twain, Mark [Clemens, S.L.]
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- The £1,000,000 bank-note and other new stories. London: Chatto and Windus, 1893
- Paper
8vo (185 x 122mm.), FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO WILHELMINE VON HILLERN ("To Frau von Hillern | from one who has read with | pleasure + profoundly admires | "Geier-Wally" - | Mark Twain | Kronkenheit-Tölz | August, 1893. | [Now I've gone + left the | "Die" out! But I was | born careless (dumm | geboren.] SLC") on the half-title, 2pp. publisher's adverts at front and 32pp. dated March 1893 at end, original pictorial red cloth, floral endpapers, collector's green morocco backed folding box, upper board a little bubbled, interior upper hinge slightly split, some spotting
Provenance
Mabel Zahn; her sale, Freemans, 20 June 1975 [?], lot 122; Ronald von Klaussen; Argosy Book Store, c.1993; Nick Karanovich, Fort Wayne; his sale, Sotheby's New York, 19 June 2003, lot 73
Literature
see BAL 3436; see Johnson (1910) pp.67-68
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where 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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
INSCRIBED WITH ADMIRATION AND AT LENGTH TO GERMAN ACTRESS AND NOVELIST, WILHELMINE VON HILLERN (1836-1916), signed both as "Mark Twain" and with initials "SLC". Von Hillern's novel Die Geier-Wally, which Twain refers to in his inscription, was first published in Berlin in 1875 and appeared in English the following year with the title Geier-Wally: A Tale of the Tyrol. The story of was based on the life of Austrian painter Anna Stainer Knittel (1841-1915).
Twain studied German throughout his life, having taken lessons from a local shoemaker during his childhood. It was the one language he came closest to mastering, and repeatedly figured in his work.