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Ralph Waldo Emerson. Essays: Second Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1844....
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Description
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Essays: Second Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1844.8vo. Contemporary half calf and marbled boards; cloth slipcase.
FIRST EDITION. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY EMERSON TO HIS FRIEND, SAMUEL G. WARD, on the front free endpaper: "Saml. G. Ward / from his friend / R. W. E. / Concord, 15 Oct. 1844." Myerson notes "because Essays: Second Series was printed from standing type rather than from stereotype plates, there are variant readings. Moreover, nearly every copy examined is composed of mixed sheets from the first and second printings." This copy was composed of mostly First Printing sheets, containing 22 of the 23 first printing variants noted in Myerson.
Samuel Gray Ward (1817-1907) was an American poet, author, and minor member of the Transcendentalism movement. He was also a banker and a co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Following his acquaintance with Emerson, he began contributing poems and art critiques to the Transcendentalist journal The Dial, which published four of his poems in its inaugural issue. He very quickly became much admired by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, and Emerson particularly relied on Ward to inform him about art criticism. They remained close friends, exchanging books including Emerson sending Ward Thoreau's "Elegy," and his own Essay on Friendship.
According to BAL, the date of this inscription (October 15) is the earliest date on which Emerson inscribed copies of Second Series. The copyright deposit date was October 18, and the book was apparently published on October 19. Presentation copies of either series of Emerson's Essays are very scarce.
Condition: Binding worn, particularly spine and corners; rubbed; hinges reinforced; spine label renewed. Some minor marginal toning.
References: BAL 5198; Grolier, American 47; Myerson A16.1.a-b.
Provenance: Purchased from Seven Gables, Inc., New York, 10 November 1964. From the William A. Strutz Library.
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Auction Info
2024 December 11 Important English and American Literature: The William A. Strutz Library, Part II, Rare Books Signature® Auction #6300 (go to Auction Home page)
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11th
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