Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Fair, no DJ. Moderate to significant signs of wear and blemishing to exterior, shelfworn, bumping to corners and spine ends, water marks at bottom of covers and spine, binding still holding, hinges cracked, prior owner name written on front end paper, inscription dated 1878 written on ffep, water marks throughout, else interior generally clean and unmarked. Eight pages of ads at back.
Seller: Nick of All Trades, Penn Valley, CA, U.S.A.
ALCOTT, LOUISA M.. LITTLE WOMEN Part Second. ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON, MA, 1869.
Price: US$1950.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: REAR 8 PAGE ADS, GREEN CLOTH, OWNER'S NAME.
Seller: Gian Luigi Fine Books, albany, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Early editions, both with 1869 date on the title page. Part one first appeared in 1868, and part two in 1869. This second volume states "Part Second" on the spine, and has the notice about Part One on page iv. Both volume expertly repaired, with resewing as needed and binding repairs. Edges worn, various faults, etc., but a solid, complete set of a classic.
Seller: Graver & Pen Rare Books, Midland, MI, U.S.A.
Louisa May Alcott. Little Women. Roberts Brothers, Boston Ma, 1869.
Price: US$4000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Part Second of two volume set. Green boards w/still bright gilt lettering front cover and spine. Wear to heal and toe. Binding paper lightly cracked on insides but holding firm. Small dime sized stains outer edge first few pages. Some smudging to bottom page edges. Ever so slightly cocked. Overall a nice tight copy of rare 1st edition. 359 pp plus 8 pages adverts.
Seller: Old Inlet Bookshop, Homer, AK, U.S.A.
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Woman. Boston. Roberts Brothers, 1869.
Price: US$5000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover. Bound in terra cotta brown cloth with gold lettering inside oval on the spine and cover. Publisher's name in gold at the base of the spine. Binding good and tight. The color of the cloth is still brighter than normal. There's a 3 inch slit at the rear hinge where backing linen is fleetingly visible. Foot of spine is chipped and the cloth is curled up to the gold of the publisher's name. Slight shelf-cocked, as seems always to be the case with the title. Corners bumped. Overall, though, the binding is is better condition than is usually seen. Gutters cracked at front and rear endpapers, revealing backing linen, but still tight. First blank page has original owners name signed twice, once in pen and once in pencil (Mary M Dillon) both dated July 1869. There is also a small printed 'If thou art borrowed.' clipping pasted to this first blank page. Title page dated 1869. The bottom two inches of the title page are not attached at the gutter. Frontispiece with tissue guard present. Copyright page dated 1868. 4 plates present including frontispiece. On page 341, it says 'end of part first. Part Second, completing Little Women is published in a volume to match this.'10 pages (5 leaves) of ads. The ads are numbered 3, _, 11, 12, 16, 15, 17, 19, 20, 18. The ads do mention Little Women available as a 2 volumes set for $2. Spine and title page make no mention of which 'part' this is. Publication history is a bit tricky with these wonderful early copies of Little Women. It was first published in Sept or October 1868 in an edition of only 2,000 copies. It was an immediate success, and Roberts Brothers set about reprinting it in a somewhat disorganized manner. Part 2 of the story was published in April of 1869. There were at least 3 copies of Part 1 printed in 1869 that make no mention of Part 2. This copy DOES mention Part 2 at the end of the text, but not on the title page or on the spine, suggesting that the publisher used a cover left over from the first batch (before Part 2 was added to the spine). The ownership date on the free endpaper lets us know that this copy was out in the world by July, meaning that it was printed somewhere between April and July of 1869. Extremely scarce. Please email with questions or to request more photos.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Louisa May Alcott. Little Women, Part First and Part Second. Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1869.
Price: US$6200.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: LITTLE WOMEN, Part First and Second, by Louisa May Alcott Published by Roberts Brothers, Boston, MA LITTLE WOMEN Part First (1869) First Edition / Early Printing illustrated by May Alcott. [BAL 158] LITTLE WOMEN Part Second (1869) First Edition/First State. [BAL 159] 12mo, bound in original gilt-stamped green cloth, brown coated endpapers. Housed together in a custom clamshell box. A rare treasure, this matched set was owned by Edward W. Francis whose name and date "May 28, 1869" appears inside both volumes. About: Louisa May Alcott wrote and published LITTLE WOMEN Part First in 1868. Her young sister, May Alcott, illustrated the book with four illustrations. LITTLE WOMEN was published by Roberts Brothers, Boston, and, to Louisa's surprise, became a best seller. In November of 1868, Roberts Brothers asked Louisa to write a sequel which Louisa simply titled LITTLE WOMEN Part Second. 2,000 copies of the First Edition/First printing were printed. LITTLE WOMEN Part Second was published in 1869. As sales and demand soared, additional printings from the first edition plates of Part First continued. Four early-state bindings have been observed which are uniform with the first edition/first printing. These early bindings do not have the words "Part First" on the spine. Later reprints from the First Edition plates have "Part First" written on the spine. In this way, it is evident the LITTLE WOMEN Part First offered here is one of the earlier First Edition / Early Printing states [BAL 158]. As LITTLE WOMEN's success grew, Roberts Brothers decided to discontinue using May Alcott's illustrations in Part First. At the time Louisa wrote LITTLE WOMEN Part First, the Alcotts were not a wealthy family and May Alcott was not yet a well-trained artist. The LITTLE WOMEN Part First in this set is one of the scarce editions illustrated by May Alcott who was the model for "Amy March". Condition Notes: Custom Made Presentation Box: In Very Good/ Near Fine Condition with some very light scuffing to green cloth, this custom presentation box was made just for this LITTLE WOMEN set, and its gilt will shine brightly in any library placement. LITTLE WOMEN Part First, First Edition/ Early Printing (1869) Outside in Good Condition. Green cloth and Gold Gilt remain bright and clear. There is some chipping and loss of gilt at the top of the spine; some rubbing to gilt at bottom of spine. Bumping to corners with exposure of boards. ~1/4 hole in spine (see photo). Inside: Fair Condition. The binding has been tightened but remains very fragile and in poor condition towards the middle of the volume where the stitching remains intact but very loose. Book signature section between pages 145-160 is attached by a single stitch. In short, don't hand this book to a toddler to read. Give them a paperback and put this one in your glass case. On the front chocolate endpaper, there is pasted a lovely image of Louisa May Alcott with a plate signature. All four May Alcott illustrations are present and in good condition. Pages are crisp and clean throughout. LITTLE WOMEN, Part Second: First Edition / First State [BAL 159] Good condition. Some bumping to the top of spine with small loss of gilt. Wear at bottom of spine with cosmetic crack in cloth just below the words "Roberts Bros" and over the gold gilt decor line at bottom. Some bumping to corners with minimal exposure of boards. Inside, the binding is good and secure. Some cracking and exposure of hinges, particularly near the middle, but not effecting structure. Pages are crisp and clean. Over advertisements at the back, there is pasted a newspaper clipping containing Louisa's response to a fan. On the second-to-last end paper, there is a damp stain on the top of the paper. Stain reflects faintly on the last end paper. Passing through Concord, Massachusetts- the town where they were penned- this LITTLE WOMEN set will make a special edition to a Louisa May Alcott collector's library.
Seller: Barrow Bookstore, Concord, MA, U.S.A.
Alcott, Louisa M.. Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.. Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1869.
Price: US$7249.93 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Complete in 2 vols. Original green cloth. Vol. 1 has 1869 on the title page, no Part One statement on the spine, and the notice for “Little Women, Part Two” on page 341. BAL indicates that there were at least three printings dated 1869 before the notice was added to p. 341 and that four 1869 printings took place without the Part One statement on the spine. Vol I, then, is an early printing of the First Edition. Vol. 2 has the note on p. iv that Little Women, Part First, is published in a volume uniform with this, has 4 entries on p. 364, and has “Handy Volume Series/ 1/ Happy Thoughts. . . .” heading p. 366. Vol.2, then, is a First Edition, Second State. Volume 1 has been expertly rebacked with with original spine laid down. Three leaves with a tiny bit of foxing, Very Good. Volume 2 has two leaves with very tiny edge chips, Very Good. A nice set perfect for a gift. Photos available on request.
Seller: Pride and Prejudice-Books, Ballston Lake, NY, U.S.A.
Alcott, Louisa M.. Little Women. Roberts, Boston, 1869.
Price: US$10000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two volumes, very good in original cloth, a mixed set, with the second printing of volume one, dated 1869, and a first edition of the second volume, also dated 1869. Volume one has an ownership signature dated 1869, and another one dated later. Housed in a custom-made cloth slipcase.
Seller: Bookbid, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1869.
Price: US$25000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1868, 1869. Two volumes. First Edition, first printings. Volume I is a first state with title page dated 1868 and Little Women priced at $1.25 in the adverts at the rear. Volume II, BAL's second state with a notice on p. iv "Little Women, Part First, is published in a volume uniform with this", four entries on pp. [366]. Bound in publisher's original green cloth lettered in gilt. Very Good, both volumes rebacked. Slight lean to bindings, cloth rubbed and worn and with blistering to the first volume, old ownership markings to front matter, pages tanned and thumbed, occasionally age-stained, browned and offset from leaves formerly laid in.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.