Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851-52

HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). The House of the Seven Gables. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1851. First English edition, first printing. A piracy, printed from the Bohn edition plates. Clark, A 17.2a. Octavo (176 x 105mm). Original blue-green cloth, gilt-stamped spine (lightly faded, a few spots).

— The Blithedale Romance. London: Chapman and Hall, 1852. First English edition. Two volumes, octavo (198 x 120mm). Original brown cloth, blind stamped (worn, head and tail caps frayed, slightly leaning, text block somewhat loose in Vol. I). Provenance: Charlotte Sparrow 1786-1876, educational philanthropist residing in the notable Bishton Hall (bookplate and pencil inscription).

Two first English editions. This English edition of The Blithdale Romance is the true first overall, as Ticknor and Fields of Boston paused to allow Chapman and Hall to publish first and therefore protect the English copyright of the novel. The House of the Seven Gables received major critical acclaim in England, with the Athenaeum ranking Hawthorne as one of the most original novelists of modern times following its release (Wineapple, 239). See Brenda Wineapple’s Hawthorne: a Life (2004).