Smith Seba Major Jack Downing (12 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Very good condition. Minimal wear. A couple light soiling spots to outside page edge. Inside pages are clean and tight. No writing or marking.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. Original issue. Brown blindstamped decorative cloth, 5x7 ½ inches, 384 pp, illustrated with frontispiece and two other plates. Fair. Front board detached, backstrip relatively tattered, tear along rear joint, first free front endpaper missing, 2 inch tear at side edge of title page, hinge cracks between several of the gatherings, laid-in old newspaper clippings, foxed; strictly a reading copy. Literature; humor; Victorian; New England.…

hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Missing, possibly as issued. First Edition. Stated first printing of the 1973 facsimile of the 1859 edition (first THUS). Very good hardcover, missing dust jacket, possibly as issued from a personal collection (NOT ex-library). Binding is tight, sturdy, and square; sage green boards also very good, corners sharp; gilt titling remains bright and bold. Exterior wear is very minor. Interior is free of markings. Ships same or next day from Dinkytown, Minneapolis, Minnesota. …

Hardcover. Condition: Good. [New England - Social life and customs] Bound in publisher's cloth. Hardcover. Gutters and hinges weakened/cracked. 384 p. front. 19 cm.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. 1st Edition. 1st printing. Boards show wear to edges and corners, and along spine edges; binding tight; front hinge cracked; pages clean with no foxing. A collection of satirical letters purportedly written by Major Jack Downing, humorist Seba Smith's most popular character. 458 pages + 3 pages of publisher's ads.…

Decorative Cloth. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: N/A. Early edition, copyrighted 1854. Brown textured cloth, embossed, gilt illus. and spine lettering. Cloth is spotted over portions of both panels, rubbed at corners with some exposure, a bit frayed at spine extremities. Several small holes through cloth along both joints. 384 pp., frontis. illus. Text block shows scattered foxing, mostly light, ranging occasionally to moderate. Latter half of text block is more toned than first, owing to an apparently different type of paper stock used in printing. Firm binding, certainly an acceptable reference copy. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.…

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No. First Edition. Philadelphia: John E. Potter & Company, 1854. First edition in fair, worn condition. Spoof on the life and people of early 19th century New England. Brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and extensive Victorian style decoration in black, decorative endpapers, 384 pages. Covers heavily rubbed with a hole in the center of the spine which affects the bottom of the name Jack, rear cover and outer edge of front cover dampstained (no damp odor), good hinges, sound text block, chips to final blank, very minor dampstains to front free endpaper and final two pages, outer edge foxed, minor foxing to a few pages, pages generally very clean and unmarked. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fair/No. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.…

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. First Edition. Fiction. Blindstamp brown cloth covers rubbed and worn, corners and spine ends bumped and frayed, rear joint partially split, book slanted. Owner's blindstamps on two of the front endpapers with other minor owner's notes, hinges good, pages tanned, some signatures mis-aligned. Scarce original printing in usable condition.…

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good +. No Jacket. 3rd Edition. Embossed green hard cover shows light wear at edges and sides of spine. The spine is slightly cocked. 254 pages are clean, tight and unmarked with black and white sketches throughout. Second endpaper has erased penciled inscription.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Original tan cloth covers that are soiled and stained. Top one inch of title page missing to include the word "Letters", rear end papers torn out. A few dog ears to upper corners. Intermittent foxing throughout. Frontis woodcut of Landing Of The General At Castle Garden, New York. The pirated edition of Letters Written During the President's Tour, "Down East," by Myself, Major Jack Downing, of Downingville (1833), which contained letters by Smith as well as by Charles A. Davis and other imitators, caused Smith to print his own letters in The Life and Writings of Major Jack Downing of Downingville (1833), to which, however, he added some letters by "Uncle Josh Downing," written by J.L. Motley. The numerous imitations of the Downing letters also called forth many cartoons of the character, who was the prototype of Uncle Sam as a symbol of the U.SHard to find this early edition in any condition. PayPal accepted.…

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Dust Jacket. First Edition; First Printing. This book came from the Sondley Reference Library in Asheville North Carolina. It has typical libray markings but no card pocket or Due Date slip. Otherwise there is general wear on the corners and edges, but square and securely bound. ; Signature of F. A. Sondley; Woodcuts; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 458 pages; This is one of the famous Major Jack Downing books by Seba Smith New En glander who pioneered vernacular humor in America. He is the northern counterpart to the Old Southwest Humorists. This book is signed on the ffep by F. A. Sondley, an author and historian from Asheville NC. Sondley donated many of his books to the Asheville Public Library which established the Sondley Reference Library in his honor. This copy, for whatever reason, was deaccessioned, but the association to Sondley is intersting. ; Signed by Associated.…

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First edition. A clean, tight copy with a bit of fray to spine ends and rear joint. First blank Inscribed on the first blank: "Hon John Kelley with the compliments of Appleton Oaksmith." Appleton Oaksmith was the son of the author, Seba Smith, an early American humorist from Maine. Appleton Oaksmith went on to be a notable player in North Carolina history. During the Civil War, he sided with the Confederates, and was tried and convicted for slave trading in 1862. He fled to London and was later pardoned after the war. A nice copy, with an interesting historical association.…