The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson and the Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins….    Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1894.

First edition of this scathing social commentary on the evils of racism. BAL’s first state (text bulks to 1 1/8” and the title page is conjugate. With the width of Twain’s facsimile signature at 1 7/16” on the portrait frontispiece, BAL’s A variant, priority undetermined).

Octavo. [iv], 15 [sic]-432 pp. With inserted portrait frontispiece. The very rare publisher’s half green pebbled morocco over marbled boards, spine ruled, tooled, and lettered in gilt in compartments, four raised bands, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Joints professionally rehinged, some rubbing to edges, lacking rear free endpaper, some soiling in text. Still, a very good copy in this exceedingly rare binding.

Besides being a book decrying the rampant racism of its day, this also has one of the earliest mentions of the use of fingerprinting to solve a crime.

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BAL 3442

ID: 3301

$ 1,500