THE $30,000 BEQUEST and Other Stories

1906. Illustrated. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1906. Original red cloth decorated in gilt.

First Edition, first printing (with no boxed ads on the title verso). This is a sizable (523-page) collection of 38 very short stories -- from a great many years, starting with his "Advice to Young Girls," an 1865 spoof. This was the last miscellaneous collection published during Twain's lifetime. Although the number of copies printed is not known, this is a rather uncommon Twain first edition -- among the Harper titles it is probably second in scarcity only to TOM SAWYER ABROAD / TOM SAWYER DETECTIVE, which is known to have consisted (truncated) of only 1000 copies. This is a near-fine copy (spine a bit faded, some speckling of the rear cover cloth, but essentially no wear or soil). Blanck 3492; McBride p. 224. (Inventory #: 15552)