Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain – 1885 | First Printing in Original Green Cloth

Mark Twain’s momentous book Huckleberry Finn has been the source of arguments, discussion, and controversy since it first appeared in 1885. It has been reprinted countless times and is still considered to be one of the most popular American novels, if not the most popular. This first American printing meets the first edition points according to the BAL (see below).

Kemble’s illustrations are consistent with the first printing’s issue, printed in clear impressions across the text. Paper stock, type setting, and margins conform to Webster’s initial run. No signs of later issue substitutions or married leaves are evident.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade)
• Author(s): Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)
• Illustrator(s): Edward Windsor Kemble
• Publisher: New York, Charles L. Webster and Company
• Edition: First American Edition, 1885.
  • conjugate title page with copyright dated 1884;
  • the frontispiece portrait showing the tablecloth and bearing the Heliotype imprint;
  • the incorrect “Huck Decided” on page 9;
  • the mislocated illustration on the list at page 13;
  • the uncorrected “with the was” on page 57;
  • the captioned image “Him and another man” on page 87;
  • the missing “l” in “Col.” and broken “b” in “body” on page 143;
  • page 161 without a signature mark;
  • page 155, the final digit “5” is present though slightly misaligned
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Publisher’s original green cloth
• Size:  8.75 in x 7.25 in (22 cm x 18 cm)
• Collation: 366 pp
• Illustrations: Numerous in-text illustrations; frontispiece portrait with Heliotype imprint and visible tablecloth
• Contents Include:
  • Full original text
  • Illustrations by E. W. Kemble throughout
  • Notice, explanatory, and prefatory sections
• Reference(s): BAL 3415; Grolier 100 American, no. 87

Condition:

Bound in green cloth with black stamping and gilt titling to spine and upper cover. Wear consistent with age is visible at the extremities, including minor fray to corners and softening at spine ends. The spine gilt remains intact with moderate dulling. The front endpaper is detached but retained. Internally, the text block is stable though slightly shaken.

Why Collect This?

• First printing confirmed through all first and early state points
• Publisher’s original cloth binding intact
• Priority illustrations and typographic variants present
• Referenced in major bibliographies (BAL, Grolier)
• High-interest example for collectors of Twain or 19th-century American fiction

Inventory #: 50003