The Writings. The Definitive Edition.

TWAIN, Mark.

Published by New York: Gabriel Wells, 1922-25

About this Item

The Definitive Edition, number 128 of 1,024 numbered sets signed by the author on the front blank as "Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain", and with the limitation leaf additionally signed by Twain's friend and biographer Albert Bigelow Paine. A very handsome set of the most complete of all the collected editions of Twain's works, here bound by the leading American bookbinder Stikeman of New York. The edition includes an autographed flyleaf in Mark Twain's hand from stock then recently discovered in the Harper and Brothers vaults, putting it in that somewhat rarified category of posthumously signed limited editions, something that would no doubt have amused the author himself. The rare book seller Gabriel Wells purchased the rights from Collier and Son to a 35-volume set of Mark Twain's works for $200,000. The story behind the rediscovery of the autographed sheets is unclear, but Mark Twain's biographer Albert Bigelow Paine stated that Mark Twain had signed the sheets in 1906 in anticipation of a new uniform edition of his works. The Definitive Edition utilizes many of the original illustrations and engraved portrait frontispieces of Mark Twain that had been used in the 1899 autographed edition, although the artists received no official credit or acknowledgements. The edition is printed on Old Enfold paper by Plimpton Press of Norwood, Massachusetts, with a circular "Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens" watermark. Three years later, in 1925, Albert Bigelow Paine's 2-volume edition of Mark Twain's Autobiography was added to the set, bringing the total number of volumes to 37, making it the edition with the largest number of titles ever produced for a uniform set of Mark Twain's works. BAL 3691. 37 vols, octavo (218 x 144 mm). Portrait frontispiece by W. H. Bicknell to vol. I, and plates by P. Newell throughout. Contemporary blue half morocco by Stikeman of New York, spines lettered in gilt, blue watered silk sides, blue endpapers, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. Extremities expertly and discreetly restored in places, contents clean, fresh, and partially unopened; a very handsome set.

Seller Inventory # 146937

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Writings. The Definitive Edition.
• Publisher: New York: Gabriel Wells, 1922-25
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)