Merry Tales – Mark Twain – 1892 | First Edition, First Printing

Mark Twain

Merry tales – mark twain – 1892 | first edition, first printing | first edition merry tales mark twain, 1892, in original green cloth with bal 3435 variant a points. A rare early short story collection including his civil war fiction, issued without frontispiece and with original floral endpapers.

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First edition Merry Tales Mark Twain, 1892, in original green cloth with BAL 3435 Variant A points. A rare early short story collection including his Civil War fiction, issued without frontispiece and with original floral endpapers.

$499.00

In stock

Free shipping wordwide!


Satisfaction Guaranteed

Image Gallery Description & Details

This first edition of Merry Tales by Mark Twain, published in 1892 by Charles L. Webster & Co., is part of the Fiction, Fact and Fancy Series and matches all first state points noted in BAL 3435 Variant A. It retains the original green cloth binding with ornate black-stamped series design and gilt titling. This copy features the correct floral-pattern olive endpapers and excludes the frontispiece, aligning it with the earliest form of publication.

This collection gathers Twain’s short fiction from the 1880s into book form for the first time. The stories are drawn from his magazine work and display a mix of irony, skepticism, and satire. Among them, The Private History of a Campaign That Failed remains one of the few instances in which Twain commented directly on his brief Civil War service, describing militia disarray and personal hesitation.

 

Bibliographic Details

  • Title: Merry Tales
  • Author(s): Mark Twain
  • Publisher: New York, Charles L. Webster & Co.
  • Edition: First Edition, First Printing (1892).
  • Format: Octavo, single volume
  • Binding: Original green cloth, gilt spine, patterned endpapers
  • Size:  7.25in X 5in (18.5cm x 12.5cm)
  • Collation: vi, [2], 9–209, [9] pp
  • Illustrations: None (as issued)
  • Contents Include:
    • The Private History of a Campaign That Failed
    • The Invalid’s Story
    • Luck
    • The Captain’s Story
    • A Curious Experience
    • Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning
    • Meisterschaft
  • Provenance: Stamp; Lewis A. Storrs.
  • Reference(s): BAL 3435 (Variant A)

 

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in original green cloth with gilt spine titling and stamped series design. Mild toning to spine and slight wear at spine ends and corners. Binding remains sound. Internally clean, complete, with floral-patterned endpapers intact. As issued, no frontispiece present.

 

Why Collect This?

  • First edition in first state with original binding and issue points
  • Early collection of Twain’s lesser-seen short stories
  • Includes Twain’s Civil War piece, rarely addressed in his fiction
  • Attractive series binding format discontinued soon after release
  • INVENTORY NUMBER (SKU): #28775

Categories

Americana, American History

Literature

Civil War

Authors

Mark Twain

Printing Date

19th Century

Language

English

Binding

Hardcover

Book Condition

Very Good

Collation

Complete