THE MARBLE FAUN: OR, THE ROMANCE OF MONTE BENI. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1860. 12mo, two volumes: pp. [i-v] vi-xi [xii-xiv] [15] 16-283 [284-288: blank] [note: last two leaves are blanks] + 16-page publisher's catalogue dated "March, 1860" inserted at rear; [i-vi] [7] 8-284 [285-288: blank] [note: last two leaves are blanks], flyleaves at front and rear, original decorated brown cloth, front and rear panels stamped in blind, spine panels stamped in gold and blind, brown coated endpapers. First U.S. edition, first printing. This copy agrees with Clark's points for his first printing, including signature mark "1*" on page ix of volume one. Published simultaneously (or nearly so) with the UK edition, which was titled THE TRANSFORMATION ... Hawthorne's last major work of fiction, making use of his travels in Europe, especially Italy, in the late 1850s. As in most of his work, the weird and fantastic smolders underneath mundane events. "THE MARBLE FAUN, though it is severely flawed in other ways, is a good example of fairy tale and novel moving in opposite directions to good effect. As a fantasy, the story tells of a young man's journey to maturity. Donatello leaves home, meets the princess, slays the evil magician, flees, and ultimately, one hopes, gains both kingdom and bride. In the real world, however, Donatello's act is a crime, and his story is not a fairy tale but tempered tragedy." - Attebery, The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature, p. 51. Bleiler (1978), p. 96. Not in Reginald (1979; 1992). BAL 7621 (noted printing 1). Clark A23.3.a (plate variant A). Cloth worn at edges, spine ends chipped, a few scattered stains to text block of volume one, most noticeably to last leaf of the preliminaries and first two leaves of text, a tight, good copy. (#129751).
Price: $250.00
No statement of printing.