Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$85.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: 336 p., [7] leaves of plates : ill. ; 18 cm. Bound in publishers brown cloth. Second issue of first edition, with George C. Rand on copyright page and ads dated September, 1853. Sewn binding from later date. Poor condition. Extensive wear. Binding shaken, with several leaves sprung. Pg 257-70 torn, sown repaired with white thread. S.W.A.F.
Seller: Sequitur Books, Boonsboro, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$195.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover. Brown cloth over boards. Gold lettering and stamping on spine. Boards are rubbed with wear around corners. Spine is chipped at head and foot, with some wear to cloth along hinge. Title page dated 1853. 8 pages of advertisements at the front, followed by the text (336 pages). Contents are in good condition. Pages are clean. Binding strong. Black and white frontispiece with additional illustrations throughout. The book includes the myths of: Theseus and the Minotaur (Chapter : "The Minotaur") Antaeus and the Pygmies (Chapter: "The Pygmies") Dragon's Teeth (Chapter: "The Dragon's Teeth") Circe's Palace (Chapter: "Circe's Palace") Proserpina, Ceres, Pluto, and the Pomegranate Seed (Chapter: "The Pomegranate Seed") Jason and the Golden Fleece (Chapter: "The Golden Fleece"). Please e-mail us with questions or to request photos. Inventory: 9-1714.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with no mention of "George C. Rand" on the copyright page. Catalog dated August, 1853. Original gilt-decorated brown cloth, with a bit of loss to spine ends. Scattered foxing to pages, binding tight, former owner signatures to front endpaper.
Seller: Graver & Pen Rare Books, Midland, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hardcover. Brown cloth with blindstamped decorations; the classic mid-19th century Ticknor binding. Some fading and wear to the edges, spine is a half tone lighter than the boards from sun and wear. No cracks or splits of any sort, but not a pristine copy. Text block good and tight. No sprung signature or damage. Early ownership name on inside front cover. Ads at the front are dated August, 1853, which is the preferred date. Title page dated 1853. Copyright page only dated 1853, with "Boston Stereotype Foundry" but no mention of George Rand -- which was added later. First printing of the first edition. 336 pages. Some toning to the pages, some scattered foxing. Please email with questions or to request photos.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first issue with no mention of "George C. Rand" on the copyright page. Catalog dated August, 1853. Original gilt-decorated green cloth, with a bit of loss to spine ends. Scattered foxing to pages, binding tight, former owner signatures to front endpaper.
Seller: Graver & Pen Rare Books, Midland, MI, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 336 pp. Duodecimo. [17.5 cm]. Blue cloth over boards with gilt title and ornamentations stamped on spine. Elaborate blind stamping on front and back boards. Spine cocked. Moderate to severe foxing to pages. Boards are scuffed, particularly at edges. Hinges are a bit soft. Heavily rolled spine. Previous owner's ex libris sticker on front pastedown. Various pencil notations throughout. Slight warping to pages. In this first edition copy, Hawthorne retells legendary Greek tales with a fresh style and clear plot for children.
Seller: Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA, Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Very good minus first edition book in original blue cloth with blind-stamped illustrations on front and back panels and gilt stamped lettering and illustrations on spine. Board panels are scuffed and stained. Edges at head and tail of board spine are rubbed and fraying, more so at the tail. Lower front right corner tip and adjacent edges are rubbed through, other fore-edge corner tips are lightly rubbed. Front paste-down has small book seller's label in upper left corner, previous owner's name in small script in the center and scuffs in the upper right corner. FFEP has very faint previous owner's inscription in the upper right corner. Back paste down has several sticker remnants/ghosts and small binder's label. With Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page, but lacking 8 pages of ads prior to the text. Engraved frontispiece with tissue and 6 additional engraved plates. Foxing, smudges andoccasional stains but text is minimally impacted. Text block is sound. Please use close-up options for best inspection and in support of condition description. Additional photos available at your request. International sales to all countries other than the UK will require use of an alternative shipping company which will result in higher shipping expense. A signature upon receipt may also be required.
Seller: R & G Bliss Books, Excelsior, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Description: First American edition, first printing, with only the stereotyper's imprint at the bottom of the copyright page, and with the earliest ads. Frontispiece, with tissue guard, and six plates. 8-page advertisements dated July 1853 inserted between front endpapers. 336 pages. 8vo (16.8 x 10.3 cm). The six stories here form a sequel to The Wonder-book published the previous year. BAL 7614; Clark A22.2.a Original blue blind-embossed cloth, gilt-lettered and decorated on spine. Chip at head of spine and top of front joint, a few stains to covers; some intermittent foxing, but a very good plus copy in original condition Frontispiece, with tissue guard, and six plates. 8-page advertisements dated July 1853 inserted between front endpapers. 336 pages. 8vo (16.8 x 10.3 cm) First American edition, first printing, with only the stereotyper's imprint at the bottom of the copyright page, and with the earliest ads.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE Nathaniel. Tanglewood Tales. Another Wonder-Book. , 1853.
Price: US$739.71 + shipping
Description: Wood engraved illustrations, pictorial title page. First edition, original green cloth blocked in gilt and blind. Boston, Ticknor Reed and Fields. BAL 7614. The first printing with Boston Stereotype Foundry only on the imprint page, lacking the adverts. Head and tale of spine slightly nicked, otherwise an excellent copy of Hawthorne's re-telling of Greek Myths for children.
Seller: Maggs Bros. Ltd ABA, ILAB, PBFA, BA, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$825.00 + shipping
Description: First Printing, with imprint of Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page. Octavo; publisher's blue 'T' cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt on spine and in blind on panels; yellow endpapers; [8] ads in Blanck's B state, dated August, 1853, 336pp. Panels and extremities lightly rubbed, with some heavier rubbing and minor board exposure along bottom edge and corners; light wear to spine ends, with contemporary owner's name (1858) written on first ad leaf; two faint adhesive shadows on rear endpaper; hinges sound; solid Very Good copy. In a Near Fine custom cloth slipcase.
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books, ABAA, Winchester, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition, ads dated July, 1853 with Tanglewood Tales in press, with imprint of Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page. 336. [4, ads]pp. 1 vols. 4to. Bound by STIKEMAN & CO. in three quarter blue morocco, richly gilt spines, raised bands, t.e.g., with the original publishers' brown cloth covers bound in. From the library of Agnes Neustadt, with her bookplate. About fine First Edition, ads dated July, 1853 with Tanglewood Tales in press, with imprint of Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$900.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 5 illustrations. Small 8vo, original blind-stamped green cloth, re-cased, with a rubbed spine. Foxed throughout. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1853. First Edition. Clipped signature of Hawthorne pasted to the front flyleaf. First issue, with Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page, and 8 pages of ads.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$1200.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Pictorial half-title. Small 8vo, re-bound in full black crushed levant, gilt spine & dentelles, all edges gilt. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & Fields, 1853. First Edition. A clean copy, with brown-stains on one leaf (63/64); a few pages are slightly chipped in the margins. First issue, with Boston Stereotype Foundry on copyright page, and 8 pages of ads listing this title as "in press." The original cloth spine & cover are bound in.
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$1500.00 + shipping
Description: First American Edition; first printing. Publisher's cloth; contemporary owner's signature; bookplate; hinges starting; minor page staining; a very good copy in a custom clamshell box. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. TANGLEWOOD TALES, for Girls and Boys;. , 1853.
Price: US$1650.00 + shipping
Description: being A Second Wonder-Book. With [Six] Fine Illustrations. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853. 8 pp preliminary ads dated August 1853. Original blind-stamped blue cloth with gilt-decorated spine. First American Edition, first printing, published in the month following the English edition. This is Hawthorne's collection of mythological tales (the Golden Fleece, the Minotaur, etc.) re-told "for Girls and Boys." There were two printings dated 1853: 3000 copies printed in August or earlier but not issued until September 20th, plus another 800 copies printed on September 16th -- before any copies had been issued. (Ticknor delayed publication to permit Chapman & Hall to publish first, for copyright purposes.) The second printing is identifiable by the addition of George C. Rand's imprint on the copyright page -- not present here. This copy has preliminary ads dated August 1853, where this title is listed without a price and as "Just out"; we have seen first-printing copies with ads dated July or August, or with no ads, and we have seen second-printing copies with ads dated October. It is in blue cloth (one of several colors used, without precedence). Condition is bright and near-fine (scarcely any wear, occasional foxing most evident on the ad leaves, the lower edge of the title leaf "naturally" ragged). Clark A22.2.b; see Blanck 7614; Peter Parley to Penrod p. 10.
Seller: Sumner & Stillman [ABAA], Yarmouth, ME, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. TANGLEWOOD TALES, for Girls and Boys;. , 1853.
Price: US$1950.00 + shipping
Description: being A Second Wonder-Book. With [Six] Fine Illustrations. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853. 8 pp preliminary ads dated July 1853. Original blind-stamped green cloth with gilt-decorated spine. First American Edition, first printing, published in the month following the English edition. This is Hawthorne's collection of mythological tales (the Golden Fleece, the Minotaur, etc.) re-told "for Girls and Boys." There were two printings dated 1853: 3000 copies printed in August or earlier but not issued until September 20th, plus another 800 copies printed on September 16th -- before any copies had been issued. (Ticknor delayed publication to permit Chapman & Hall to publish first, for copyright purposes.) The second printing is identifiable by the addition of George C. Rand's imprint on the copyright page -- not present here. This copy has preliminary ads in the earliest state, dated July 1853, where this title is listed without a price and as "In press"; we have seen first-printing copies with ads dated July or August, or with no ads, and we have seen second-printing copies with ads dated October. It is in green cloth (one of several colors used, without precedence). Condition is near-fine (minor fading of the spine, a couple of leaves standing slightly proud, a few faint droplet-marks on the rear cover). There is a small name-plate on the front paste-down. Clark A22.2.b; see Blanck 7614; Peter Parley to Penrod p. 10.
Seller: Sumner & Stillman [ABAA], Yarmouth, ME, U.S.A.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. TANGLEWOOD TALES, for Girls and Boys;. , 1853.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Description: being A Second Wonder-Book. With [Six] Fine Illustrations. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853. 8 pp preliminary ads dated July 1853. Original blind-stamped red cloth with gilt-decorated spine. First American Edition, first printing, published in the month following the English edition. This is Hawthorne's collection of mythological tales (the Golden Fleece, the Minotaur, etc.) re-told "for Girls and Boys." There were two printings dated 1853: 3000 copies printed in August or earlier but not issued until September 20th, plus another 800 copies printed on September 16th -- before any copies had been issued. (Ticknor delayed publication to permit Chapman & Hall to publish first, for copyright purposes.) The second printing is identifiable by the addition of George C. Rand's imprint on the copyright page -- not present here. This copy has preliminary ads in the earliest state, dated July 1853, where this title is listed without a price and as "In press"; we have seen first-printing copies with ads dated July or August, or with no ads, and we have seen second-printing copies with ads dated October. It is in bright red cloth (one of several colors used, without precedence). Condition is bright and close to fine (just a trace of wear at the spine ends). Clark A22.2.b; see Blanck 7614; Peter Parley to Penrod p. 10. Housed in a cloth clamshell case with morocco label. Provenance: bookplate of Bruce Lisman, from his renowned collection sold at Christie's.
Seller: Sumner & Stillman [ABAA], Yarmouth, ME, U.S.A.
Price: US$2750.00 + shipping
Description: Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys; Being a Second Wonder-Book. With fine illustrations. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853. First American edition, first printing (without imprint of Geo. C. Rand on copyright page). Small octavo (6 5/8 x 4 1/4 inches; 167 x 109 mm). [8, advertisements], [4], 5-336, [2, blank] pp. With wood-engraved vignette title-page and six additional engraved plates. With eight-page publisher's catalogue inserted between front endpapers. Publisher's purple-brown cloth. Covers ruled and decoratively stamped in blind and spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt. Edges stained yellow. Pale yellow endpapers. Minimal rubbing to extremities. Spine a bit sunned. Some minor flaking to the head and tail of the spine. Binding slightly skewed. Overall a very good or better copy. Chemised and housed in a brown cloth slipcase, with red morocco spine label. BAL 7614. Browne, p. 74. Clarke A22.2a. Peter Parley to Penrod, Pg. 10. HBS 67826. $2,750.
Seller: Heritage Book Shop, ABAA, Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3202.16 + shipping
Description: First US edition, first issue, of Hawthorne's sequel to The Wonder Book (Boston, 1852), retelling the Greek myths for children. This copy has a loosely inserted envelope addressed to the publisher, penned and initialled by Hawthorne. This edition, preceded only by the UK edition of the same year, has the following issue points: the "Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry" mention to the copyright page; the omission of price in the list of Hawthorne's works (later issues having the price of 88 cents); and the publisher's ads dated "August, 1853", in the second state, listing the present title as "just out" (p. 2). Small octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, decorationsin blind to boards, pale yellow coated endpapers. Housed in custom blue cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slipcase, spine lettered in gilt (a hint of wear). Additional engraved title, 6 engraved plates, 8 pp. of publisher's advertisements at front. Gilt morocco bookplate of Katharine de Berkeley Parsons (1897-1993); embossed booksellers stamp of Gray Sprague & Co. to first leaf of ads. Minute wear to corners, faint soiling, the binding otherwise sound and bright, occasional spotting to contents, else internally fresh; a very good, attractive copy indeed.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$3750.00 + shipping
Description: First American Edition; first printing. Publisher's cloth; contemporary gift inscription at the top of the pictorial title page; nearly fine. 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$3750.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Original red embossed cloth, gilt design and lettering on spine. First Printing with only "Boston Stereotype Foundry" imprint on copyright page (versus "George C. Rand). A stunning copy, in fine condition with only very minor nick to top and bottom of spine, very slight bumping to corners; the cloth is bright and almost untarnished in any way with crisp embossed designs, hinges fully intact, the gilt on spine s unrubbed. Internally, clean and bright with no foxing. 8pp ads in front. A rare example indeed. Housed in chemise, with nice crimson quarter crushed morocco slipcase.
Seller: Nudelman Rare Books, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL. Tanglewood Tales. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853.
Price: US$30000.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First American edition, first printing of Hawthornes final childrens book. A spectacular American literary presentation copy inscribed by Nathaniel Hawthorne to Oliver Wendell Holmes: O.W. Holmes from his friend N.H. Holmes wrote about Tanglewood Tales with great enthusiasm in a letter to its publisher, James T. Fields: Hawthornes book has been not devoured, but bolted by my children. I have not yet had a chance at it, but I dont doubt I shall read it with as much gusto as they, when my turn comes. When you write to him, thank him if you please for me, for I suppose he will hardly expect any formal acknowledgment (September 6, 1853). The two were friends for many years. Holmes served as Hawthornes pallbearer in May 1864. The next month he wrote in The Atlantic, Our literature could ill spare the rich ripe autumn of such a life as Hawthornes, but he has left enough to keep his name in remembrance as long as the language in which he shaped his deep imaginations is spoken by human lips. Inscribed copies of Tanglewood Tales are rare at auction, with no other examples appearing since 1974. This volume, inscribed by Hawthorne to Holmes, must be counted as one of the best nineteenth-century American literary presentation copies in private hands. BAL 7614 (first printing, with only Boston Stereotype Foundry on the copyright page). Clark A22.2a. Original green cloth. Spine ends chipped, rear joint repaired. Half morocco case. Provenance: 1. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., inscribed by Nathaniel Hawthorne; 2. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., with his calling card inscribed to his nephew, presenting the book as a Christmas gift: Ned with love Merry Christmas from his uncle Wendell.
Seller: 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop, Stevenson, MD, U.S.A.
Price: US$48000.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Illustrated by Hammatt Billings, with a frontispiece and six plates. First edition, first printing, without the Geo. C. Rand imprint on the copyright page, without the publisher's advertisements. Presentation copy, inscribed by Hawthorne to his close friend Henry Bright on front free endpaper: "Mr. H. A. Bright. / With the author's regards." Publisher's bright blue cloth, with boards decorated in blind, spine decorated and lettered in gilt, pale-yellow coated endpapers. Near fine, with light soiling to cloth, light rubbing to spine ends, bright gilt, corners slightly bumped, light soiling to endpapers, bookplates of Henry A. Bright and modern owner to front pastedown, and a small spot of soiling to p. 44 and a few surrounding pages. A tight and attractive unsophisticated copy. The only other inscribed copy of this title that we have seen was one we handled from a private collection that we then sold in 2016. Housed in a custom blue quarter-leather slipcase with folding chemise. BAL 7614. Tanglewood Tales is a collection of retold stories from ancient Greek mythology and the sequel to Hawthorne's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1851). Specifically, it includes "The Minotaur," "The Pygmies," "The Dragon's Teeth," "Circe's Palace," "The Pomegranate Seeds," and "The Golden Fleece." As with the stories in Wonder-Book, Hawthorne adapted these classic tales for younger readers not only by simplifying their plots, but also by removing "every thing that is abhorrent to our Christianized moral sense" and inserting the "blessed sunshine" of the Greek tragedians. Henry Arthur Bright (1830 - 1884) was an English merchant and author (Year in a Lancashire Garden, 1879). Bright met Hawthorne in Concord, MA in 1852, by a letter of introduction from mutual friend Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The next year, Hawthorne settled in Liverpool as American Consul; they became close friends and traveled extensively throughout England together. Bright was a literary critic for the Examiner and a contributor to the Athenaeum. In 1855, Bright wrote a humorous piece about Hawthorne in the style of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" titled "Song of Consul Hawthorne." In his essay "Consular Experiences" (1863), Hawthorne wrote of Bright: "Bright was the illumination of my dusky little apartment, as often as he made his appearance there!" When Hawthorne died in 1864, Longfellow wrote to Bright, "I am glad to know how deeply you feel this loss; for I know, having heard it from his own lips, that he liked you more than any man in England."
Seller: B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.