The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Manuscript Edition
Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. First Edition; twenty volumes; publisher’s 3/4 green morocco; raised bands; gilt spine decoration; top edges gilt. Spines sunned slightly to brown; very minor occasional wear; an excellent set. One of 600 numbered copies with a manuscript leaf bound in. For the most part, the publisher provided leaves from Thoreau’s Journals, the source and notes for his published work. However this particular leaf is exceptional. For one thing, Thoreau’s last name appears twice in his hand (in the body of the leaf). For another, more important point, this leaf, about two hundred words in ink, with minor additions and marks in pencil, is apparently a draft of the work he is best-known for, Walden. Analysis strongly suggests that, rather than adapting a page from his Journals (as ordinarily expected), it appears to be an actual draft (likely from Draft C, as delineated in Howarth’s 1974 publication The Literary Manuscripts of Henry David Thoreau), describing Colonel Quoil, a resident himself of Walden Woods, who passed away shortly after Thoreau’s arrival. The author’s presence there was brief, but memorable, influential, and enduring.
[Book #35241P]
Price: $20,000.00