first edition
1855 · Boston
by LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1855. FIRST EDITION, First Printing. 185 x 110 mm. (7 1/2 x 4 1/4"). iv, 316 pp., [2] blank leaves, 11, [1] pp. (ads).
Brown publisher's cloth, covers with blind-stamped decoration, smooth spine with gilt lettering. With the ads for Ticknor and Fields publications in the back. Front pastedown with bookplate of Charlotte W. Porter; front free endpaper with ink gift inscription to her from her brother, dated Christmas 1855. BAL 12112. â—†Corners and head and tail of spine a little rubbed, scattered light marginal soiling and occasional spots internally, but generally fresh and pleasing, in its original smooth, clean, unmarked binding.
Longfellow's epic poem about the Native American "Hiawatha"--a composite of legends, folklore, myth, and characters presented in short, lilting lines--is one of the most famous works in 19th century American poetry. However, its initial reception was decidedly mixed when our first edition appeared in 1855. The "Boston Traveler," in revealing its (benighted) unwillingness to accept the work's content, said: "We cannot help but express our regret that our own pet national poet should not have selected as a theme of his muse something better and higher than the silly legends of the savage aborigines." The poem nevertheless went on to enjoy significant popular success, with its first printing of 5,250 copies of October 1855 selling out so quickly that two more printings were issued before the year was out, and six more following by April of the next year. Our copy is of this first printing, with all seven of the first issue points as laid out by BAL, but with the "n" in "one" that BAL notes is sometimes missing from the very earliest printings. This is not a rare book, but ours is an especially pleasing copy of an American classic in its original binding.. (Inventory #: ST19567-154)
Brown publisher's cloth, covers with blind-stamped decoration, smooth spine with gilt lettering. With the ads for Ticknor and Fields publications in the back. Front pastedown with bookplate of Charlotte W. Porter; front free endpaper with ink gift inscription to her from her brother, dated Christmas 1855. BAL 12112. â—†Corners and head and tail of spine a little rubbed, scattered light marginal soiling and occasional spots internally, but generally fresh and pleasing, in its original smooth, clean, unmarked binding.
Longfellow's epic poem about the Native American "Hiawatha"--a composite of legends, folklore, myth, and characters presented in short, lilting lines--is one of the most famous works in 19th century American poetry. However, its initial reception was decidedly mixed when our first edition appeared in 1855. The "Boston Traveler," in revealing its (benighted) unwillingness to accept the work's content, said: "We cannot help but express our regret that our own pet national poet should not have selected as a theme of his muse something better and higher than the silly legends of the savage aborigines." The poem nevertheless went on to enjoy significant popular success, with its first printing of 5,250 copies of October 1855 selling out so quickly that two more printings were issued before the year was out, and six more following by April of the next year. Our copy is of this first printing, with all seven of the first issue points as laid out by BAL, but with the "n" in "one" that BAL notes is sometimes missing from the very earliest printings. This is not a rare book, but ours is an especially pleasing copy of an American classic in its original binding.. (Inventory #: ST19567-154)
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