The Complete Works. With a Biographical Introduction and Notes by Edward Waldo Emerson and a General Index; [with] Journals 1820-1876, edited by Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes; [and] A Bibliography of Ralph Waldo Emerson Compiled by George Willis Cooke.

EMERSON, Ralph Waldo.

Published by Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press [except A Bibliography: Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston,] 1903-14

About this Item

First edition, large paper issue, of the Journals, handsomely bound with the Autograph Centenary edition of the Works, each copy number 524 of 600 sets signed by the publisher and issued with a double-sided autograph leaf. This set features manuscript notes for a lecture, which were not retained in the published article, "Aristocracy", and are unrecorded save for a brief mention in this edition's footnotes. Both the Journals and the Works were produced by Emerson's son, Edward (1844-1930). His edition of the collected works remained the standard text until 1971. While lengthy extracts from Emerson's journals had previously been published, this edition of the Journals was the first comprehensive edition. It "was recognized at once as a prodigious undertaking rarely matched previously in providing insights into the intellectual growth of an author of Emerson's stature. It served to stimulate a wide range of critical commentary" (ODNB). This set also features a volume of bibliography, number 499 from a limited edition of 530 copies. BAL 5318-5329 & 5463; Myerson A52.I.1 D1 & B19. 23 vols, octavo (220 x 150 mm). Mounted photogravure frontispieces with captioned tissue guards, similar plates throughout, text printed in red and black. Folded manuscript leaf inlaid to size and bound in to front of vol. I. Publisher's deluxe brown crushed half morocco, spines lettered in gilt, compartments tooled with gilt foliate design, striped green patterned paper sides and endpapers, top edge gilt, fore and bottom edges uncut, green bookmarkers. Many gatherings unopened. Spines uniformly sunned as usual, bindings very lightly rubbed. A near-fine set.

Seller Inventory # 183557

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Complete Works. With a Biographical Introduction and Notes by Edward Waldo Emerson and a General Index; [with] Journals 1820-1876, edited by Edward Waldo Emerson and Waldo Emerson Forbes; [and] A Bibliography of Ralph Waldo Emerson Compiled by George Willis Cooke.
• Publisher: Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press [except A Bibliography: Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston,] 1903-14
• Edition: 1st Edition