The Writings of Henry David Thoreau
“One would suppose that the superbly inlaid written folio leaf which is the mark of the "Manuscript Thoreau" was sufficient novelty, even for a limited edition bound in dull forest tints of Levant and marbled paper, as if for a faun's library, but the frontispieces, flower photographs, taken on the very book leaf present an entirely new species of illustrations.”
– “Beauties of the 'Manuscript Edition' of Thoreau”, New York Times, 3 Mar 1906
COMPLETE EDITION OF THOREAU’S WORKS WITH TWO-PAGE MANUSCRIPT LEAF IN THOREAU’S HAND. IN ORIGINAL LEATHER BINDINGS.
In 1906, Thoreau’s complete writings were published by Houghton Mifflin in a unique “Manuscript Edition”. The first volume in each set contains an original leaf from Thoreau’s autograph manuscript mounted and tipped-in before the title page and frontispiece. What also sets this edition apart from previous collections of Thoreau’s writings is that it contains his entire Journal in fourteen volumes which had recently been edited and published by Bradford Torrey.
The present manuscript leaf appears to be a draft from his Journal entries of October 1858 at Walden, for a section titled “The Colors of the Oaks”. Thoreau describes the autumnal changes in foliage, noting how the leaves of various white and black oaks are fading or deepening in hue. “Many leaves of the small white oaks have turned to a dull crimson – almost salmon color”, he writes, which later becomes “the next most uniformly reddish, a peculiar dull crimson (or salmon?) red, are the white oaks” (vol. XVII: Journal XI, p. 211). The text of the manuscript leaf varies quite considerable from the published text of his journals as printed as Vol. XVII of the Manuscript Edition, and the leaf includes some interlinear pencil emendations.
THOREAU, HENRY DAVID. The Writings of Henry David Thoreau. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906. Manuscript edition, no. 80 of 600 copies. Octavo (5¾ x 8¾ in; 14.6 x 22.2 cm), 20 volumes. Frontispieces and photogravure plates by Herbert W. Gleason, each volume of the leather-bound set has two frontispieces in colour and a coloured carbon photograph of a flower; two-page autograph manuscript from Thoreau’s journals tipped into vol. 1. Publisher’s original binding, three-quarter green levant Morocco over yellow-green Morris paper boards, matching Morris paper endpapers, top-edge gilt, floral and stellar motifs tooled to spine along with series and volume titles. Uncut and partially unopened; some scuffing to spines and corners; closed tear at the centre fold of the autograph leaf. A beautiful set.
Price: $16,000 .