L. W. Currey, Inc.

MUIR, JOHN. The life and letters of John Muir by William Frederic Badè. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, MDCCCCXXIII-MDCCCXXIV [1923-1924]. 22.5x15 cm, two volumes: pp. [i-iv] v-vi [vii-xii] [1-2] 3-398 [399] [400: printer's imprint]; [i-viii] [1-2] 3-453 [454] [455: blank] [456: printer's imprint] [457-458: blank], fourteen inserted plates with illustrations reproduced using the photogravure process, title pages printed in red and black, original green cloth, leather labels affixed to spine panels, all edges untrimmed. First edition, first printing, limited issue. Limited to 750 copies, this being copy number 304. A special copy with a manuscript fragment of Muir's book, THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA, tipped into volume one. THE LIFE AND LETTERS ... first appeared as volumes nine and ten of the "Manuscript Edition" of THE WRITINGS OF JOHN MUIR, issued in an edition of 750 numbered sets with a fragment of the holograph manuscript of Muir's THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA tipped into volume one of each set, and later (?) as volumes nine and ten of the "Sierra Edition." THE WRITINGS OF JOHN MUIR was a publication of the Houghton Mifflin Company's Private Library Department and was sold by subscription only. No publication data is available. "A handwritten note (Dr. Badè) on the publisher's announcement indicates that the manuscript edition, issued in a variety of formats, was completely sold" (Kimes, pp. 99-100). Some sets of the "Manuscript Edition" of THE WRITINGS ... were issued with a leaf of manuscript in each volume. This copy has a leaf of manuscript in volume one, but none in volume two. Each leather label has a contemporary tiny leather cancel over the volume number and the volume numbers on the jacket spines have been carefully erased. The status of this copy is currently unknown and it is possibly unique. The imprint "The Riverside Press Cambridge" is not present on the title pages of this printing, but is present on terminal printed leaves of both volumes. THE LIFE AND LETTERS ... was also issued separately in 1924 as a two-volume set, after all subscribers had received volumes nine and ten of the "Manuscript Edition" of THE WRITINGS ... .With rare insight and understanding, Badè compiled THE LIFE AND LETTERS ... , using Muir's unpublished autobiography and his correspondence as his main sources. See BAL 14774. See Kimes 341. A fine copy in the rare original printed dust jackets, both with internal mends along the spine folds, shallow chipping at edges, and mild tanning to spine panels. (#167592).