THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

London: Chatto and Windus, 1876. RARE AND TRUE FIRST PRINTING. The True First Edition, English issue preceding the American issue thus the earliest issue available. 8vo, publisher’s original red cloth, ornately decorated on the upper cover and spine in gilt and black. [viii], 341, [1[ pp. Internally quite clean and still fresh, the original red cloth with some general evidence of age, some typical evidence of shelving or use, the original spine panel laid down, a well-preserved copy of this rare book. FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING OF THE SCARCE LONDON ISSUE, PRECEDING THE AMERICAN AND THUS THE EARLIEST ISSUE ATTAINABLE OF THIS GREAT AMERICAN CLASSIC.
TOM SAWYER is now considered to be, along with HUCKLEBERRY FINN, one of the great stepping stones to the modern American novel. It, like Whitman’s LEAVES OF GRASS and Melville’s MOBY DICK, typifies and describes the American spirit. It lies at that very special moment in history when America, having challenged its past sets off on the new adventures that will force it into the coming century and the great expansion of its democratic spirit. To this day, it remains a cornerstone of American literature.