1894 – Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson – Mark Twain | First Edition First Printing

A rare first edition of Mark Twain’s satire novel The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Told in typical Twain fashion, infants switched at birth reveal their true colors as DNA encoding takes precedence over environment. Set during the early years of the 19th century, this pre-Civil War satire tackles social commentary issues still being debated today. Twain presents the reader with a light-skinned black mother switching her infant with her white master’s in order to prevent her own child being raised as a slave. Twain uses humor and irony in revealing seething levels of racism and classicism.

This first edition meets the expected points for the first state of this book. See below for details.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson: And the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins
• Author(s): Mark Twain
• Publisher: Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company
• Edition: First Edition. 1894.
  • Title-page in black and red
  • Frontispiece inserted (i.e. on different paper)
  • Page size: 8 ¾” scant x 5 ¾”
  • Issued in cloth
• Binding: Decorative cloth hardcover
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Size:  9in x 6.25in (23cm x 16cm)
• Collation: 432 pp
• Illustrations: Numerous illustrations including frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, full text
• Reference(s): BAL 3442

Condition:

Very Good. Binding firm with light external wear. Spine ends and corners gently worn. Pages show mild toning and scattered foxing. Text block solid. Illustrations clear. No markings or repairs noted.

Why Collect This?

• First printing with all points present

Item Number: #50037