Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A WONDER-BOOK FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$130.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, [i]-vi, [7]-256 pages. In Good condition. Bound in heavily sunned brown cloth with gilt text Boards show heavy sunning to spine and both covers, chipping to spine edges, bumping and rubbing to corners, tear on rear joint where spine was reglued, and slight cocking to spine. Textblock has light foxing to some pages. Second Issue indicated by "lifted" on page 21 line 3. Shelved Room A. 1371823. Special Collections.
Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA, Rockville, MD, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. Boston: Ticknor, Reed And Fields, 1852.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition, first issue with "lifed" for "lifted" on page 21 line 3. Hardcover, bound in cloth. Rebacked. Fore-corners frayed. Prior owner name on the fly leaf dated Nov. 25, 1851. Offsetting/blemishes on the plates.
Seller: Moroccobound Fine Books, IOBA, Lewis Center, OH, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. Boston, 1852.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover, 256 pages. With engravings by Baker from designs by Billings. First edition, first issue, with "lifed" for "lifted" on page 21. Bound in red cloth with gold lettering on the spine. The red cloth variant is more scarce than the green cloth edition. However, this cop suffers from a detached front cover (but present) and missing spine strip. Only the bottom inch of the spine is present. One of 3,000 copies in the first printing of the first edition. Text block good and clean and tight and square. Original front free endpaper missing.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition, first issue with ";ifed" misprint on page 21. Original green cloth, with repairs.
Seller: Graver & Pen Rare Books, Midland, MI, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. Wonder-book for girls and boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$192.13 + shipping
Description: vi, [7]-256pp. With an engraved frontispiece and six engraved plates after designs by Hammat Billings. Without inserted publisher's catalogue. Original publisher's brown blind-stamped cloth, gilt. Rebacked, with original spine laid-down. Spine sunned with some loss to head, foot, and joints, slight rubbing to boards. Internally clean and crisp but for the occasional spot of light foxing, bookplate to FEP. First edition, first issue with 'lifed for 'lifted' on line three of p.21. The Wonder-book for Girls and Boys, by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), retells the myths of Greek mythology for children. Size: 8vo
Seller: Antiquates Ltd - ABA, ILAB, Wareham, Dorset, United Kingdom
Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Snow-Image and Other Twice-Told Tales. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852.
Price: US$225.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: "The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales" by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. 1852 1st edition, 1st printing (with a publisher's four-page catalog dated January, 1852 at the front); Ticknor, Reed, and Fields; Boston. The book is a collection of 15 short stories including The Snow-Image - A Childish Miracle, The Great Stone Face, Ethan Brand, The Canterbury Pilgrims, The Devil in Manuscript, The Wives of the Dead, Old Ticonderoga - A Picture of the Past.please see the photos for the complete list. Condition: There are a few light stains on the cover; the bottom-right corner of the back cover has a few tiny, dark stain specks. Cloth tears at the corners of the covers. The top and bottom edges of the spine are worn down. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Consistent foxing to the pages. Pages 38-47 have dark stains at the lower-outer corners. Ex-library copy with a library label affixed to the front pastedown, and a card sleeve & date slip affixed to the rear end paper and pastedown. There is an inscription dated 1852 written in pen on a front end paper. The letter "H" in "Hawthorne" on the title page has 2 small underlines in pencil. Overall the book is in Good- condition.
Seller: CraigsClassics, Hudson, NH, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL. A WONDER-BOOK FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. TICKNOR, REED AND FIELDS, 1852.
Price: US$400.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: GENERAL WEAR, RUBBED EXTREMITIES, TEXT BLOCK LOOSE, GOLD GILT LETTERING ON SPINE, PREVIOUS OWNER INSCRIPTION, FORE EDGE SLANTED TO THE RIGHT With engravings by Baker from designs by Billings. First edition, first issue, with "lifed" for "lifted" on page 21. One of 3000 copies of this first printing first edition. DATE PUBLISHED: 1852 EDITION: FIRST 256
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First edition, 2nd state in original green cloth. Publisher: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852. Second state with lifted spelled correctly on page 21. Binding is in very good plus condition, wear to the top of the spine and less so to the bottom. Spine faded but lettering clearly visible. Tight copy. Contents clean, stain to edge of frontispiece, very occasional light foxing. Else a very nice copy. 256 pages. Frontispiece and 6 full page illustrations. 4 ¾ x 7 inches. Protected by Mylar. Inventory #14-003. Price: $450. Language: eng Language: eng Language: eng
Seller: Discovery Bay Old Books ABAA, ILAB, Brentwood, CA, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$495.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: FIRST PRINTING, with the misprint "lifed" for "lifted" in the third line of page 21. Publisher's original brown cloth. Pale yellow endpapers. Contemporary ink gift inscription on the front free endpaper dated July 1st, 1852. One of only 3000 copies. The cloth is faded and the binding is slightly cocked. There are a couple of snags at the foot of the spine, and some wear to the bottom edges and corners. Internally, there's some minor staining, including a very faint dampstain over the last fifty or so pages of text. A good to very good copy. Myerson A 18.1.a.
Seller: Clarel Rare Books, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$499.00 + shipping
Description: First Printing, one of 3,067 copies, with "lifed" for "lifted," line 3, p. 21; first issue (one of only 3067 copies printed and published November,1851), without the inserted publisher's catalogue at rear. Small 8vo: vi,[7]-256pp, with frontispiece and 6 woodcut plates, protected by tissue guards, "gracefully executed" by Hammat Billings, "add[ing] materially to the charm of the little volume." (Grolier) Publisher's original T cloth (faded to an even brown tone), spine lettered and stamped with floral decorations in gilt, covers elaborately paneled in blind, pale yellow endpapers. An exemplary copy, the binding tight and secure, spine relaid professionally and almost imperceptibly, with all lettering intact; light, scattered foxing and the odd, occasional stain. BAL 7606. Grolier Hawthorne 25. Peter Parley to Penrod, p.6. Clark A18.1.a. Stories for girls and boys based on classical myths (Pandora's box, Hercules, Bellerophon and the Chimera, Baucis and Philiomen, Perseus and Medusa), freely adapted from Charles Anton's A Classical Dictionary. Written in the months following publication of House of the Seven Gables. The book proved so popular that Ticknor, Reed, and Fields published the sequel, Tanglewood Tales, the next year. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
Seller: Fine Editions Ltd, Lancaster, PA, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First edition, 2nd printing (with the typo on pg 21 corrected), one of 1,600 copies printed on December 4, 1851. Publisher: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852. Small 8vo, original blue-gray cloth, spine gilt lettered. Frontispiece and six plates. Signature and date on verso of the frontispiece. 256 pages. Nickel size stain on the lower front cover, wear to the bottom of the spine. Triangle book plate on paste-down, and corresponding imprint on the first fee endpaper. Contents clean. A very nice tight copy. Language: eng Language: eng Language: eng
Seller: Discovery Bay Old Books ABAA, ILAB, Brentwood, CA, U.S.A.
Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Cloth. First printing. Very good copy, professionally repaired original blue cloth binding, in custom half-leather slipcase.
Seller: Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 256 pages. Original cloth binding; stamped in blind and gilt; moderate sunning to the spine and minor to moderate rubbing to the extremities; protected in archival mylar. Additionally protected in a custom full leather clamshell box. First edition, first printing, of Hawthorne's first book for children, with frontispiece and six engraved plates. First printing or first issue with "lifed" for "lifted" on page 21, line 3. One of 3000 copies of this printing. Minor foxing mainly to the first several pages, and minor soiling. Without any pages being loose, one quire is slightly extruded. All edges gilt. Neat gift inscription dated 1852 on front endpaper. Size: 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall
Seller: Kurt Gippert Bookseller (ABAA), Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852. First edition. Octavo. vi, [7]-256, [2, blank] pages. Frontispiece and six illustrated plates. Original blue cloth, gilt stamped on covers and spine, all edges gilt. Moderate rubbing on extremities, boards showing at corners, some scuffing on gilt edges, spine slightly cocked, minor loss on head and tail of spine, light toning and foxing, hinges starting. Staining on pp. 18, 33/34, 42-43, 47, 156-159, and 192, text affected. Housed in a modern silk slipcase. A good copy.
Seller: Neverland Books, waalre, Netherlands
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Boys and Girls. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$550.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: FIRST PRINTING, with the misprint "lifed" for "lifted" in the third line of page 21. Publisher's original green cloth, with pale yellow endpapers. One of 3000 copies. The gilt is somewhat dulled and there is minor wear to the spine tips and some erosion to the bottom edge of the front board. The front free endpaper is absent else the book is complete with white wove flyleaves inserted at the front and back, an engraved frontispiece, and six illustrated plates. A very good and very clean copy. Myerson A 18.1.a.
Seller: Clarel Rare Books, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$550.00 + shipping
Description: First edition with the misprint "lifed" for "lifted" on the 3rd line of page 21. Attractively rebound by noted 20th century binder Curtis Walters. Green gilt half morocco, raised bands, gilt rules, title, author and Bost. 1852 on the spine. Marbled boards matching the end papers. Following the success of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne attempted to capitalize on his fame with two children's books, A Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales. Both were very popular and have been celebrated for their retelling of myths for children. The six tales include "The Gorgon s Head," "The Paradise of Children," "The Three Golden Apples," "The Miraculous Pitcher," and "The Chimaera," as well as Hawthorn' s version of the King Midas tale, "The Golden Touch." First printing or issue with "lifed" for "lifted" on page 21, line 3. Clark A.18.1.a. BAL 7606. 8vo, (vi), 8-256pp, 7 plates. Handsome green gilt half morocco, raised bands, gilt rules, title, author and Bost. 1852 on the spine. Marbled boards matching the end papers. The tiniest bit of foxing on three early pages, a couple of early notations in book, overall in fine condition.
Seller: Antipodean Books, Maps & Prints, ABAA, Garrison, NY, U.S.A.
Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo. 1st edition, 1st issue. Toning to spine and edges of boards. Some rubbing to fore-edges and spine ends. Light fraying and tearing to spine ends with roughly 1/4-inch chip to tail of spine. Soiling to edges of textblock. Some staining to lower margins of leaves with some foxing throughout. VG.
Seller: Strand Book Store, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. , 1852.
Price: US$874.20 + shipping
Description: Frontispiece and 6 plates after Billings, First edition, 8vo., original brown ribbed cloth blocked in gilt and blind, Boston, Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. BAL 7606. The first issue, with 'lifed' for 'lifted' on page 21 line 3, the brown cloth a variant not noted by Blanck. Contemporary ink school prize inscription on the front free endpaper, ink ownership inscriptions on the second front free endpaper and contents page, head and tail of spine rubbed with some loss at the tail, otherwise a very good copy.
Seller: Maggs Bros. Ltd ABA, ILAB, PBFA, BA, London, United Kingdom
Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$1200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Original blindstamped purple cloth, spine gilt, slight wear but a pretty copy . Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852. First edition, rare 1st issue BAL 7606; Clark A18.1.a; Peter Parley to Penrod, p. 6. . Slight rubbing to spine ends, else very good. Housed in a custom vintage clam shell slipcase. This is the first of his two Children's book, the second being the Tanglewood Tales of 1853. This first book contains the Gorgon's Head and The Golden Apples among other myths and legends beautifully wrought by Hawthorne. a children's treasure.
Seller: Hirschfeld Galleries, Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys.. Ticknor,Reed & Fields., Boston:, 1852.
Price: US$1265.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. First binding. Frontis and 6 plates. Sm. 8vo., BAL. 7606. Bound in original blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and blind stamp covers. Book is very slightly cocked, lightly rubbed with a few flecks from the gilt on the edges. There are two tiny repairs, skillfully done to the very top and bottom of the spine. Otherwise a lovely, bright and clean copy. Six legends of Greek mythology, retold for children by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Included are The Gorgons Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimaera. In 1838, Hawthorne suggested to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that they collaborate on a story for children based on the legend of the Pandoras Box, but this never materialized. He wrote A Wonder Book between April and July 1851, adapting six legends most freely from Charles Antons A Classical Dictionary (1842). He set out deliberately to "modernize" the stories, freeing them from what he called "cold moonshine" and using a romantic, readable style that was criticized by adults but proved universally popular with children.
Seller: Quaker Hill Books, Redding, CT, U.S.A.
Price: US$1601.08 + shipping
Description: First edition of Hathorne's re-telling of ancient myths, first state with "lifed" (for "lifted") at page 21, line 3; there are various colours of cloth without priority. BAL 7606; Clark A 18.1.a; Blanck Peter Parley to Penrod p. 6. Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, covers blocked in blind, yellow endpapers. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase. Engraved frontispiece and 6 plates. Contemporary presentation inscription to front free endpaper. Light wear to cloth extremities with neat repairs, light handling creasing and toning to contents. A very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1650.00 + shipping
Description: First printing, with uncorrected text on p.21 reading "lifed". 12mo (17.5cm). Publisher's blue-green embossed cloth, with gilt titles and decorations to spine; pale yellow endpapers; vi,[7]-256pp; frontispiece and six inserted leaves of plates. Printed bookplate of Philadelphia lithographer John Louis Ketterlinus inside front cover. A superb copy: aside from a tiny (
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books, ABAA, Winchester, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition, First Printing of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Most Famous Children's Book Six Tales Adapted from Greek Myths HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. With engravings by Baker from designs by Billings. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852. First edition, first printing, with the misprint "lifed" for lifted" on p. 21, line 3. Small octavo (6 5/8 x 4 3/8 inches; 169 x 111 mm.). [2, flyleaf], [i]-vi, [7]-256, [2, flyleaf] pp. Frontispiece and six inserted engraved plates after designs by Hammat Billings, all with original tissue-guards. Original gray-green, vertically ribbed cloth, covers stamped in blind, spine lettered in gilt, pale yellow wove endpapers. Some occasional and minimal light marginal soiling. Spine extremities expertly and almost invisibly strengthened (only visible under ultra-violet light), minimal rubbing to corners. Original endpapers and hinges untouched. A wonderful example of this superb collection of six children's tales adapted from Greek myths. First Edition, first printing, of this collection of six children's tales adapted from Greek myths. Although dated 1852 on the title-page, A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys was actually published in November 1851. 3,067 copies were printed, of which 100 were distributed for review and the other 2,967 earned Hawthorne a 15% royalty on the 75-cent price. A second printing was ordered almost immediately, in December 1851, also dated 1852 - but with the misprint on p. 21 corrected. Although Hawthorne had written a number of histories, biographies and morals for children prior to the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, these early stories were primarily undertaken as hack-work and published in periodicals. Following the success of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne attempted to capitalize on his fame with two intended money-makers, A Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales, in 1853. Both were very popular and have since been celebrated for their retelling of myths for children. Includes six tales: "The Gorgon s Head," "The Paradise of Children," "The Three Golden Apples," "The Miraculous Pitcher," and "The Chimaera," as well as Hawthorne s version of the King Midas tale, "The Golden Touch." The popular success of A Wonder-Book led Hawthorne to publish another volume of children s stories in 1853, Tanglewood Tales. In his introduction to that book, he wrote "Children possess an unestimated sensitivity to whatever is deep or high, in imagination or feeling, so long as it is simple, likewise. It is only the artificial and the complex that bewilders them." Hawthorne wrote A Wonder-Book immediately after The House of the Seven Gables. That novel had sold 6,710 copies by August 1851, and A Wonder-Book sold 4,667 copies in just two months after its November 1851 publication. By comparison, his friend Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick was released the same month, with the British edition selling under 300 copies in two years, and the American edition under 1,800 in the first year. BAL 7606; Clark A18.1.a; Grolier Hawthorne 25; Peter Parley to Penrod, p.6.
Seller: David Brass Rare Books, Inc., Calabasas, CA, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, first issue with no ads. Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo. A lovely copy of Hawthorne's most famous children's book, with "The Gorgon's Head," "Three Golden Apples," etc. BAL 7606; Peter Parley to Penrod. Provenance: Henry William Poor (morocco bookplate); Mrs. J. Insley Blair (morocco Blairhame bookplate) Original blind-stamped blue cloth. Some wear to corners and minor rubbing to boards, slight lean, occasional foxing and minor marginal staining, outer corners of two leaves lost but a very attractive copy, housed in slipcase Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, 1852.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, first issue with no ads. Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo. A very nice copy of Hawthorne's most famous children's book, with "The Gorgon's Head", "Three Golden Apples", etc. BAL 7606; Peter Parley to Penrod Original blind stamped blue cloth. Faintest traces of rubbing to the spine, one small patch of soiling. Gilt titles fresh. Very nice, clean copy Frontispiece and 6 engraved plates by Baker from designs by Billings. vi, [7]-256 pp. 1 vols. 12mo
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. , 1852.
Price: US$3025.00 + shipping
Description: HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Original blue blindstamped cloth, spine gilt, housed in custom cloth slipcase. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1852. First edition, second issue with "lifted" corrected on P. 21, line 3. BAL 7606. Clark A.18.1.b. Slight rubbing to spine ends, small bookplate on front pastedown, early gift presentation on front free endpaper, occasional faint scattered foxing, else a near fine copy.
Seller: G.S. MacManus Co., ABAA, Bryn Mawr, PA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition; first printing. Publisher's cloth; spine slightly faded; minor cover spots and trivial wear; nearly fine. This copy has an inserted publisher's catalogue dated October, 1851, not noted in the Bibliography of American Literature or in Clark. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Original publisher's red cloth with attractive embossed design work on both covers, gilt lettering and design on spine. A stunning, fine copy with bright covers and untarnished gilt to spines, hinges entirely intact, and clean and tight internally with no foxing. Browning opposite a small rectangular remnant of former owner at front, very slight rubbing to extremities of spine, corners minimally bumped. One of the nicest copies one could hope to find of a Hawthorne classic, featuring early stories undertaken as hack-work and published in periodicals. Owner signature, dated1852. Housed in folding cloth chemise and matching quarter crimson morocco (gilt) cloth slipcase.
Seller: Nudelman Rare Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.