Near to Nature's Heart

New York, NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1876. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. A tale set during the American Revolutionary War. A SCARCE first printing. Aside from an old inscription (dated 1884) on the front free endpaper, this is a fairly clean copy with no other writing, marks, underlining, or bookplates. Pages, endpapers, and textblock edges are quite brown, but this is to be expected in a book of this age. There is also the occasional smudge or light foxing throughout the text. The spine is relatively tight and crisp, though the binding is visible in the gutters. Corners are square, and the boards are flat and true. The boards do show some wear. The front board has some moisture damage that has caused some puckering to the lower inch or so. This moisture damage is also slightly visible in the textblock, where it has crept into the pages for about a quarter inch. The lower spine extreme is a bit bumped/tattered, the edges and corners are moderately worn, and the back board shows some spotting and scuffing. The spine cover is also lightly worn on either side. However, the boards are still quite vibrant and have retained there rich green color and gilt gold lettering, the latter being a bit duller on the spine cover. No dust jacket. This collectible, very good, first edition/first printing copy is protected with an archival mylar cover. Satisfaction guaranteed!