Emerson Ralph Waldo: Books, First Edition, Signed (35 results)

hardcover. Condition: fine. Dust Jacket Condition: fine. Evelyn Hofer (illustrator). First. Beautifully illustrated with photographs by Evelyn Hofer, text by Evelyn Barish. 116 pages. Slim 4to, brown cloth, d.w New York: Henry Holt, 1989. First edition. A fine copy in a fine dust wrapper. Inscribed by Evelyn Barish on the front endpaper.

Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good binding. Folio. x, 262, [1] pp. Limited edition, numbered 667 of 1500 copies, signed by the printer under the colophon. Backed in linen with printed paper spine label and blue paper over boards. Printed in black Cloister Lightface type with red shoulder notes. A fairly bright copy with limited shelfwear including some spotting to the spine and a bumped bottom corner on the front boards; contents are clean but for some very occasional light spotting; the publisher issued slipcase is worn, sunned, and stained and the spine piece, while present, is separated. The slipcase is often found battered when present. Nevertheless, a stately edition of Emerson's essays designed and printed by one of the country's foremost printers. Bookplate of Frederick Hyde on the front pastedown. Quatro-Millenary 60; Ransom 60.

262 [1] pp. Folio, publisher's quarter cloth with printed paper label in red and black on spine, in publisher's slipcase. First edition: No. 1295 of 1500 copies, signed by John Henry Nash. Corner of the front free endpaper creased; clean, tight, unworn and sound in a sunned slipcase with some splitting starting along the joints.

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. No jacket. Richard & Doris Beer (illustrator). 87/1500cc. Signed by the illustrators Richard and Doris Beer. Leather covers flaking along top edge of spine. In slipcase.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No jacket. Richard & Doris Beer (illustrator). 87/1500cc. Signed by the illustrators Richard and Doris Beer. Leather covers flaking along top edge of the spine and along the front cover hinge. Binding is tight and pages are clean and bright.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Edited and with introduction by Richard Grossman. Brush Calligraphy by Chungliang Al Huang. Gift inscription signed by author. Fine like new. Very clean unmarked text tightly bound in grey cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Colophon blind stamped to front cover. Clean edges in pristine condition. Decorative endpapers. No DJ. Inscribed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Forbes, Sukey (photography); Malvre, Kersti (photography) (illustrator). 1st Edition. Fine condition lavender boards with silver spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Dedication. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Signed and inscribed by Sukey Forbes in thin black Sharpie at the bottom of the full title page. "When Sukey Forbes loses her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, to a rare genetic disorder, life as she knows it is shattered. Devastated as she is, though, Forbes knows her own life is not over, and she searches for ways to both come to terms with her daughter's death and recover a full, meaningful life for herself and her family. In her journey from despair to hope and comfort, Forbes struggles with her vulnerabilities as she chafes against the emotional reserve and strict self-reliance that are the hallmarks of her distinguished New England heritage. Yet her family history is also rich with spiritual seekers - including her great-great-great grandfather Ralph Waldo Emerson and his enigmatic wife, Lidian, who also lost a child to high fever at a young age. The Forbes family archives hold records of ancestors who believed in reincarnation and studied mysticism, and apparitions have long been a familiar sight at their home on the private island of Naushon, off Cape Cod. The "afterlife" takes on a new meaning, however, after Forbes seeks out a prominent medium who connects her with Charlotte on the other side. Forbes finds reassurance that Charlotte was never truly gone but rather is on a different part of the continuum of life and death. These experiences help her overcome the austerity of her WASP upbringing and ease once more into life, aware of all it might have in store for her and determined to not just survive but thrive. The Angel in My Pocket is an empowering and enlightening look at one woman's complicated and uncommon route through grief. With unflinching honesty and hard-won wisdom, Forbes tells a powerful story of rediscovering life by discovering the afterlife, coping with the pain of loss, and recapturing the joy of living." - from the inner front jacket flap. "What do we do when the unthinkable happens? We have choices, of course. We can break, become tough, allow cynicism to seep into all our broken places. Or, as Sukey Forbes illustrates in this remarkable book, grief can kick the door wide open and let the light in. [The book] is a devastating and beautiful paean to the human spirit." - Dani Shapiro, author. "How do we bear the unbearable? In this heartbreaking book, a bereaved mother offers an unflinching account of the different ways we grieve and the different - and surprising - ways we may begin to heal." - George Howe Colt, author. "I was raised in the Boston area and this book brought back memories of my childhood. I loved the line in [the book] that says 'how important it is to let all the unimportant stuff go." - Temple Grandin, author. "If your life has ever come to a halt, if you have wondered how to want to live again, if you are looking for hope and longing for courage in the face of grief, if you seek staunch honesty and are keen to hear it from someone who knows firsthand that privilege does not protect you from pain, read this book and know that you are not alone." - Laura Munson, author. "The Angel in My Pocket is one mother's response to that most visceral question that haunts the bereaved: Where has she gone? With spiritual curiosity and tenacious love, Sukey charts a heartfelt journey that grants grief its peaceful landing on a far shore." - Nichole Bernier, author. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Illustrated (illustrator). First Edition. SIGNED by Reed, first edition in excellent condition - only a hint of edgewear and rubbing to cover, interior clean, tight and bright. Contains lovely plate illustrations. 33 pp. Signed by Author(s).

262 [1] pp. Folio, publisher's quarter cloth with printed paper label in red and black on spine, in partial publisher's slipcase. First edition: No. 1232 of 1500 copies, signed by John Henry Nash. A clean, tight, unworn, sound copy with very slight tanning to the spine and printed paper label on the spine. The slipcase is lacking the long fore-edge side, and is sunned.

60, [1] pp. 1 vols. 8vo. First edition, one of 1100 copies. First edition, one of 1100 copies. 60, [1] pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Inscribed by the editor. Red cloth, paper title label. Fine.

Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii [1-3] 4-168, cloth. First edition. Signed on the front free endpaper by Derleth. Wilson 619. Signature of C. Smith at top right corner of the front free endpaper. A fine copy in fine dust jacket. (#164165).

New York: The Haybarn Press, 1985. First edition. Publisher's blue cloth, unlettered, decorated in blind, unpaginated, nine leaves, 9 x 13 inches, six drawings (three in color) by the printer, Ed Coker, plus an inserted folding color illustration and another, titled and signed in pencil "Lagoon at the Old Manse, Concord, E.C.", printed on Rives BFK, laid in. One of 200 numbered copies, this one unnumbered; text in Palatino, drawings as offset lithography by Red Ink, all from notes made by the artist at Emerson's home in Concord. A Fine copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Original terracotta colored cloth on boards with blind stamped ruling around border of front and back and gilt lettering and publishers device to spine. Small book is mostly tight, square, relatively sharp-cornered and free of major flaws and markings inside and out, other than a crack down the gutter of ffep on the brown endpapers and moderate fading to the titling on spine. This is the First Edition, First Printing with the relevant points of that condition: Signature mark N present on page 209; with "inviolate" and "choices" on page 308 (changed respectively in the second and third printings to "inviolable" and "choice"). "This was the last volume of essay published during Emerson's lifetime. By the 1870s, Emerson had faded and 'gradually slipped into a serene senility in which his mind finally became a calm blank' (OCAL). "A longtime friend, James Elliot Cabot, was enlisted by the family to help put Emerson's literary manuscripts in order and prepare his lectures for delivery and his writings for publication. Cabot and Emerson's daughter Ellen put together a final volume of essays, Letters and Social Aims (1876), some reprinted ('The Comic,' 'Quotation and Originality,' and 'Persian Poetry') and others drawn from Emerson's manuscripts ('Poetry and Imagination,' 'Social Aims,' 'Eloquence,' 'Resources,' 'Progress of Culture,' 'Inspiration,' 'Greatness,' and 'Immortality'). Inscribed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Elbert Hubbard; Minnie Gardner (illustrator). 1st Edition. One of 50 hand illuminated copies, this one decorated by Minnie Gardner. Signed by her as well as Elbert Hubbard on limitation page. First edition thus. Internally clean and bright. Some staining to boards, else a nice copy overall. Signed by Illustrator(s).

Letter. A 2-1/4-page letter on a 9-3/4" x 7-3/4" sheet of paper folded in half, addressed to [Cyrus Augustus] Bartol regarding a change of dinner party plans with Charles Eliot Norton and Katharine Louisa Russell, Viscountess Amberley on account of the death of Governor John Albion Andrew (1818-1867), with hopes to re-schedule. SIGNED "R. W. Emerson." Typical folds from mailing. About Fine.

First edition thus. First edition thus. Original publisher's three-quarter dark green crushed morocco, elaborately gilt decorated spine, finely marbled boards and matching endsheets. #28 of 100 Copies, Signed by Elbert Hubbard. In original publishers dark green and felt-lined paper covered box with printed label. Frontispiece photogravure of the "Old Manse," superb decorated title-page, elaborate border/initial at beginning, and large colophon, all printed and heightened in color and gold. A fine copy, with no signs of use. Box near fine with minimal edge-wear. A rare Roycroft title.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. 1st Edition. 2 volumes. Both are first editions. Both are from the personal library of noted Unitarian and Cornell professor Charles Chauncey Shackford. The Conduct of Life. Boston. Ticknor and Fields. 1860. Hardcover. 288 pages + 16 pages of ads. First edition, 'Writings' binding, with "Emerson's Writings" on the spine in gold. Ads dated Dec 1860. List of Emerson's writings on the page opposite the title page include "The Conduct of Life" as 'nearly ready' and show it as having 7 sections (as opposed to the 9 chapters that the book is actually divided in to). Brown cloth with blindstamped decorations. Top 2 inches of spine are damaged; a piece of the spine-strip has com detached from the front cover and flaps open now, revealing folded sewn pages beneath. A small triangle of cloth is missing at the crown of the spine, even when the spine-strip is put in place. White smudge on the front cover. Small strip of paper tipped in at the front on which is written "from the author." Unclear, as always with this style of signature, whether it is in Emerson's hand or merely on his behalf (perhaps by the publisher). Signed on the first blank page "C.C. Shackford." Nature, Addresses, and Lectures. Boston and Cambridge. James Munroe and Company. 1849. Hardcover. 383 pages + 8 pages of ads dated Sept 1849. Brown cloth with blindstamped decorations. The entire spine-strip is missing, except for a 3 inch remnant with the word "Emerson" stamped in gold, which is tucked inside. A few pencil lines in the margins of the essay Transcendentalism and The Young American. The name C.C. Shackford written on the first blank page. First printing. Binding 'A'. Both copies belonged to C.C. Shackford. Charles Chauncey Shackford (1815-1891). Born in Portsmouth N.H. Attended Harvard, where he was the first scholar of 1835. He went to the Theological Seminary at Andover. In 1841, he was ordained at Hawes Place Church in Boston in June 1841. At his ordination, Rev. Theodore Parker delivered his famous transcendental address, "The Transient and the Permanent in Christianity." Parker's address is considered, along with Emerson's speech to the graduates at Harvard Divinity in 1838, one of the founding treatises of the Transcendental movement. After ordination, Shackford went to Iowa for a few difficult years (his business burned down, two brothers and his wife died (unrelated to the fire)). He returned to Massachusetts (Lynn) to preach and teach at the Unitarian Society. Taught at Cornell from 1871-1886. Retired to Norfolk MA and died in 1891. The connection between Shackford and Emerson may only have been that of devotee and teacher, although it is clear and certain that they knew each other. Emerson was 12 years older. Shackford is unlikely to have attended Emerson's 1838 lecture at Harvard Divinity and Emerson is unlikely to have been at Parker's lecture at Shackford's ordination in 1841, though they were both in the vicinity & both were significant addresses in American Transcendentalism so they were certainly in the same circles at that time. In 1865, Emerson lectured twice in Lynn, MA & it was Shackford who sent him his fee ($50) along with a letter of thanks. Peter Harrington Books has a copy of one of Emerson's book inscribed to Shackford, dated 1867. Please email with questions or to request photos. Yes, I would sell them individually, but am offering them here together. Signed by Author(s).

First Edition. First Edition. 8vo, (8 x 5 inches)/ Attractively bound by Harry Avery in full crushed turquoise Morocco featuring swirling gilt ruling ending in two large inlaid beige circles with stylized floral designs and nailheads, with similar pattering on spine. Superb dentelles with more lavish gilt nailhead designs, and Avery's trademark handmade paper doublures and endsheets. Signed in black stamping, "H.A." on rear lower dentelle, and Roycroft orb and cross on lateral dentelle. Title page, initials, and tailpieces designed by Dard Hunter. #67 of 100 Copies, Printed on Japan Vellum. Bookmakers, Ogle, pg. 196 illustrates one example "On a High Shelf," David Ogle OB-099-05, and the binding featured in color on pg. 196. A fine copy, with spine evenly sunned.

First Edition. First Edition. 8vo, (9 x 6 inches). A striking full morocco binding by Kinder featuring an innovative highlighting employed by Kinder to give the appearance of grained wood, or simply a pleasing and novel effect. The full light brown smooth morocco has color variations and background patterning ranging from light to darker brown, and overlaid onto that is a complex and novel vein design that is expanded onto the spine and then the full back cover (i.e. no repeat to the design). We have never seen such a fine example of this patterning, and top it off, the cover is attractively adorned with three gilt leafed, long stems terminating in blossoms. This patterning is repeated on inner dentelles.#22 of 100 Copies printed on Japan Vellum, Signed and Illumined by Lily Ess. In original Roycroft labeled box (worn). The book is in fine condition. "On a High Shelf," David Ogle OB-068-02 and the binding featured in color (pg. 203).

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Blind stamped brown cloth boards. Top edge of spine worn. Binding is good. Gilt print on spine. Inscription reads: "Rebecca Duncan, from the author, Jan 1861. Text is free of any markings. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. First Edition, First Printing. Duodecimo. 5 x 7.75 in. 312 pp. Very good in the original ornamental brown cloth boards, with only minor shelf wear along the bottom and top corners, and chipping along the top of the spine. The binding is firm and the hinges are fully intact. There is light and periodic foxing throughout, as is typical of books of this era. Inscribed on the front free endpaper to fellow transcendentalist, "Sarah Clarke, from her friend, R. W. Emerson, Aug. 1856.".

First edition, first issue of this collection of Emerson's later poems. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles and botanical emblem to the front panel, top edge gilt. Signed by Emerson on the title page, "R.W. Emerson." In very good condition with rubbing to the crown of the spine and minor chipping to the front free endpaper. Rare and desirable. American essayist, lecturer, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, disseminating the tenets of transcendentalism through dozens of published essays and more than 1500 public lectures. In addition to his many important contributions to literature including 'Walden' and 'Nature', he was instrumental in facilitating the publication of Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' in 1855 and, in 1862, delivered his best friend and protege, Henry David Thoreau's eulogy. Published when Emerson's health was beginning to decline, May-Day and other Stories includes poems inspired by Emerson's 1858 venture into the wilderness of the Adirondacks to connect with nature among others.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Numerous mounted photogravure illustrations (illustrator). 1st Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1903. 12 volumes. Set No. 173 of 600 numbered with a hand-written Emerson original double-sided manuscript leaf in ink, bound in Volume 1, and hand-Signed by Publishers, Henry O. Houghton & George Mifflin. Numerous mounted photogravure illustrations. Three-quarter leather. Gilt tooling to the spine front and rear panels. Top edge gilt, marbled end papers and raised band. Large Octavo. Minimal wear, no fading. The autograph manuscript leaf is from Emerson's work "English Traits," which was originally published in 1856. An exceptional set of Emerson's Works enhanced by the inclusion of the manuscript page. Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 ¿ April 27, 1882), known professionally as Waldo Emerson, was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. Emerson wrote on a number of subjects, never espousing fixed philosophical tenets, but developing certain ideas such as individuality, freedom, the ability for humankind to realize almost anything, and the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world. Emerson's "nature" was more philosophical than naturalistic: "Philosophically considered, the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul". Emerson is one of several figures who "took a more pantheist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world." He remains among the pillars of the American romantic movement, and his work has greatly influenced the thinkers, writers and poets that followed him. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man." Emerson is also well known as a mentor and friend of Henry David Thoreau, a fellow transcendentalist. Signed by Author(s).

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-82). Poems. [2], 251pp. Boston: James Munroe & Co., 1847. 168 x 103 mm. Half calf, marbled boards ca. 1847, front cover detached, tear in spine, some rubbing and wear; later cloth slipcase (worn at top extremity). Endpapers stained, light toning but good to very good. Presentation Copy, Inscribed by Emerson to Susan B. Jackson, wife of his brother-in-law Charles T. Jackson (1805-88) on the front free endpaper: "Susan B. Jackson from her affectionate brother, R. W. E." First Edition. Although better known as an essayist, Emerson is also an important American poet, whom one critic praised as "a poetry theorist of profound reach, a revolutionary committed to the introduction of a radical aesthetics" (Porter, p. 1). Emerson published two major poetry collections in his lifetime, of which Poems was the first. "Dated 1847 (it actually was printed in December 1846), [Poems] contains 256 pages, with 56 poems and two translations . . . [it] contains the majority of his most famous piecesâ"works such as âThe Sphinx,' âThe Rhodora,' âUriel,' âThe Snow-Storm,' âBacchus,' âHamatreya,' âThrenody,' and the Concord âHymn'" (Morris, pp. 219-220). Emerson inscribed this copy to Susan Jackson, wife of his brother-in-law Charles T. Jackson, famous in his own right as the discoverer of ether anesthesia. S. Morris, "âMetre-making' arguments: Emerson's poems," in J. Porte and S. Morris, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson, pp. 218-242. D. Porter, Emerson and Literary Change, p. 1. .

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-82). May-day and other pieces. iv, 205pp. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867. 177 x 120 mm. Original cloth, gilt-stamped on the spine and front cover, top edges gilt, spine darkened, some soiling, small splits in hinges but sound. Light toning but very good. Presentation Copy, Inscribed by Emerson on the front flyleaf to Susan B. Jackson, wife of Charles T. Jackson (1805-88): "Susan Jackson from R. W. Emerson 1 May, 1867." First Edition of Emerson's second and final collection of poetry. "Emerson collected his verse into two major volumes, both published at the urging of his admirers and after his enshrinement as an important literary figure . . . [May-Day] contains a substantial number of important texts, among them âBrahma,' âDays,' âVoluntaries,' and âTerminus'" (Morris, pp. 219-220). Emerson inscribed this copy to Susan Jackson, wife of his brother-in-law Charles T. Jackson, famous in his own right as the discoverer of ether anesthesia. S. Morris, "âMetre-making' arguments: Emerson's poems," in J. Porte and S. Morris, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson, pp. 218-242. .

First Edition; BAL's probable earliest state of page 209. Front hinge cracked; some cloth wear; very good. Presentation copy; inscribed by the author near publication day, 'Miss Jerusha A. Gardner/ With respects of/ R. Waldo Emerson/ January, 1876.' All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.

Hardcover. First Edition. Two 5-1/4" x 8-1/2" volumes identically bound in half calf and marbled boards with matching gilt-lettered morocco spine labels. All the pamphlets are complete except for the original wrappers which were not bound in. Both volumes with Edward Everett's bookplate on the front pastedown along with a presentation bookplate of Frederick W. Putnam to Hamilton College, both stamped "Withdrawn." In addition to Emerson and Story, other contributors include James Kent, Charles Sumner, Alexander Everett, Theopholis Parson, James Percifal, William J. Spooner, Denison Olmstead, Thomas S. Grimke, Benjamin Toslin, Theron Metcalf, Asher Robbins, Seth Hawley, Virgil Maxcy, and Asher Ware. Story's DISCOURSE (SABIN 92300) is INSCRIBED "The Honorable/Edward Everett/from the Author" on the title and has a partial correction in the author's hand on page 26. In addition to Story's INSCRIPTION to Everett, Maxcy and Ware have also INSCRIBED their addresses to Everett. Emerson's address is certainly the most important present in these volumes. Published in an edition of only 500 copies, all of which were sold within a month's time, it was generally well received and was later described by Oliver Wendell Holmes as "our intellectual Declaration of Independence." When Emerson included this essay in his seminal collection in 1841, he renamed it "The American Scholar": "The clarion cry, to think, to create, to become a productive scholar, and above all to fulfil yourself as an individualist." BAL 5183; GROLIER AMERICAN 100: 43. Each volume also with the owner inscription of Frederick W. Putnam dated 22 November 1910, Binghamton, NY. Putnam, a student of Louis Agassiz, was the first director of the Peabody Museum of Salem, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, president of the American Folklore Society, and president of the American Anthropological Association, among other honors. He is widely known as the "Father of American Archaeology." A remarkable collection with an exceptional provenance and association. Edward Everett--a Unitarian minister, member of both the United States Congress and Senate, and also a governor of Massachusetts--is perhaps best known for his oratory powers. It is he who gave the "other" address at Gettysburg on 19 November 1863. The next day he wrote Lincoln saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes." Occasional foxing or staining; "withdrawn" stamps on front and rear pastedowns where there are minor remnants of a pocket. Paper library labels on the spines, rubbing to joints, slight edgewear. Overall Near Fine.

EMERSON, Ralph Waldo. Representative Men. Seven Lectures. First London Edition: 1850. The Lord Lovelace presentation copy, inscribed "Right Honble Earl of Lovelace With the Author's Compliments" on the front free endpaper (likely in the hand of Emerson's publisher). Original plum cloth, elaborately decorated in blind (Myerson's binding A), spine gilt lettered; spine and edges sunned. Lovelace and Emerson met frequently in London, especially at his publisher Chapman's house, where the author boarded. Lord William Lovelace was married to Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, the daughter of Alfred Lord Byron and a mathematician known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical computer the Analytical Engine. Lovelace was present at a number of the "Representative Men" lectures that Emers on delivered in England in 1848. This volume comprises Emerson's essays on Plato, Swedenborg, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Napoleon and Goethe. Emerson's journal confirms he personally requested this copy to be given to Lovelace: In his entry for 17 November 1849, Emerson wrote, "I sent Chapman orders to send copies of Representative Men to [.] Earl of Lovelace." In custom rust linen and silk clamshell case. A wonderful presentation copy. BAL 5219. Provenance: William King, Lord Lovelace (presentation inscription on front free endpaper) - Whitwell Hatch (library blindstamp to front free endpaper).

First Edition. "EMERSON, Ralph Waldo. Letters and Social Aims. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1876 [i.e. 1875]. Octavo, original terracotta cloth. Housed in a half morocco chemise and full morocco slipcase. $11,000.First edition, first printing, association copy, of the last volume of essays published during Emerson's lifetime, bearing the ownership signature of Emerson's neighbor, Jeanie M. LeBrun, and additionally signed for her by Emerson and dated by him in the year of publication, "6 Jan 1876."This was the last volume of essay published during Emerson's lifetime. By the 1870s, Emerson had faded and "gradually slipped into a serene senility in which his mind finally became a calm blank" (OCAL). "A longtime friend, James Elliot Cabot, was enlisted by the family to help put Emerson's literary manuscripts in order and prepare his lectures for delivery and his writings for publication Cabot and Emerson's daughter Ellen put together a final volume of essays, Letters and Social Aims (1876), some reprinted ('The Comic,' 'Quotation and Originality,' and 'Persian Poetry') and others drawn from Emerson's manuscripts ('Poetry and Imagination,' 'Social Aims,' 'Eloquence,' 'Resources,' 'Progress of Culture,' 'Inspiration,' 'Greatness,' and 'Immortality') Emerson died quietly in Concord and was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, close to the graves of the Alcotts, Hawthornes, and Thoreaus" (ANB). First printing, with "N" on page 209 and with "inviolate" and "choices" on page 308 (changed respectively in the second and third printings to "inviolable" and "choice"). Though this work is dated 1876, the first printing took place on December 16, 1875 and was first advertised on Christmas of that year in Publisher's Weekly. Myerson A43.1a. BAL 5272. This copy belonged to and bears the ownership signature of Jean M. LeBrun, a Concord neighbor of the Emersons, as well as the Thoreaus, Alcotts, and Hawthornes. LeBrun's signature is dated Christmas day, just days after publication, suggesting that this book may have been a gift to herone that she embellished by securing Emerson's signature. LeBrun would later attain her own minor fame for a piece she wrote to the Boston Advertiser in 1883 (later separately published in booklet form) that responded to the 1882 first book-length biography of Thoreau. The biography was written by Frank B. Sanborn, yet another Concord neighbor who worked as a schoolteacher instructing the children of Emerson, Hawthorne, and James. Sanborn also proposed to Emerson's daughter, Edith, who rejected him. In his biography of Thoreau, Sanborn presented an unflattering and ungenerous portrait of Thoreau's mother. Jean LeBrun, in her piece for the Advertiser undertook to defend both Thoreau and his mother posthumously.Interior with only a couple faint stains, light rubbing to extremities of binding. A near-fine copy.". Signed.

First edition withÂfour pages of publisher's ads dated January 1, 1847 bound before the title of this collection of poems. Octavo, bound in publisher's boards covered in coated ivory-colored paper, with publisher's label on spine. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication, "Elizabeth Burgess with the best wishes of R.W.E. 1 Jan. 1847." In very good condition with some wear to the binding. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed by Emerson in the year of publication. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.