[ADAMS, Henry (1838-1918).] Mont Saint Michel and Chartres. Washington: Privately printed, 1912.

A presentation copy of the revised and enlarged edition of Adams’s 1904 work. Really a companion to his Autobiography, Adams here describes the medieval world view as reflected in its cathedrals, which he believed expressed "an emotion, the deepest man ever felt—the struggle of his own littleness to grasp the infinite." This copy bears an inscription on the front fly leaf, “To Alice Mason from Henry Adams August 1, 1905.” The first edition of Mont Saint Michel and Chartres was published in an edition of 100 copies. BAL 37.

Quarto. Original blue cloth, red leather spine label (a little minor rubbing and scuffing, front hinge a little tender). Provenance: Alice Mason (authorial inscription).