1852 First Edition Mixed Early State, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe

Description: Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly. By Harriet Beecher Stowe. Volume I: Twenty-Fifth Thousandth & Volume II: Thirtieth Thousandth . Boston: John P. Jewett & Company. Cleveland, Ohio: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington. Stereotyped by Hobart & Robbins, Printed by Geo. C. Rand & Co., 1852, First Edition, ***second or third printing. All six plates present & intact (three per volume), 312 pp, 320 pp, re-backed volume I measures 8 x 5" while unrestored volume II measures 7.75 x 5", both 8vos. *** Three thousand copies were sold on the first day of publication (out of 5,000 copies). Bibliography of American Literature (BAL) 19342, volumes from the second run of 5,000 are marked "Ten Thousandth." The first two runs are, generally, considered first printings. According to the BAL there are 18 type-set mistakes found in the first printing which were revised in later editions. None of these mistakes are found in the editions being sold here, making this NOT a first printing. 50,000 In fair condition. Both bindings cocked. Re-backed cloth boards of Vol. I lightly scuffed at edges and corners. Vol. I’s cloth spine tanned from sun-exposure; gilt lettering dulled & soiled but still legible. Un-restored Vol. II exhibits scuffed edges and corners as well. Hinges of vol. II are beginning to split at head and tail with exposed binding mesh. Head and tail of spine lacking, exposed binding. Gilt lettering on Vol. II’s spine remains bright and clean. Previous ownership signature on vol. I’s front paste-down & vol. II’s front end-page. Light toning throughout text-blocks, with some instances of light age-staining. Vol. I pages 75-106 exhibit tea dampness staining on fore-edge, text unimpeded. Bindings intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was an American author and abolitionist, best known as the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Stowe's were ardent critics of slavery and supported the Underground Railroad, temporarily housing several fugitive slaves in their home. One fugitive from slavery, John Andrew Jackson, wrote of hiding with Stowe in her house in Brunswick, Maine as he fled to Canada in his narrative title The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina (London: Passmore & Albaster, 1862). Stowe claimed to have had a vision of a dying slave during a communion service at Brunswick's First Parish Church, which inspired her to write his story. On March 9, 1850, she wrote to Gamaliel Bailey, editor of the weekly anti-slavery journal The National Era, that she planned to write a story about the problem of slavery. In June, 1851, the first installment of Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in serial form in The National Era. She originally used the subtitle "The Man That Was a Thing," but it was soon changed to "Life Among the Lowly." Uncle Tom's Cabin was first published in book form on March 20, 1852. In less than a year, the book sold an unprecedented 300,000 copies. Uncle Tom's Cabin wasn't just the bestselling book of 1852; it became the bestselling novel of the 19th century, and was only outsold by the Bible, which had a 52 year head start. At one point, John P. Jewett Publishing Co. had three presses and hundreds of workers producing copies to keep up with the demand. After the start of the Civil War, Stowe traveled to Washington D.C., where she met President Abraham Lincoln on November 25, 1862. What Lincoln said to Stowe is a minor mystery - her son later reported that Lincoln greeted his mother by saying, "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." The conflicting opinions which surrounded Uncle Tom's Cabin are said to have helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War. An absolute perfect addition to any home library. Presents well. RAREA1852MQRB03/24 - HK1366

Price: 800 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2025-01-28T15:24:27.000Z

Shipping Cost: 8.38 USD