GRANDFATHER'S CHAIR: A History for Youth

Boston: E. P. Peabody, 1841. First Edition and a true Hawthorne rarity. 12mo, publisher's original basket-weave grained plum cloth, the upper cover with black paper pastedown label gilt decorated and lettered. vii, 140pp. An especially well preserved copy, the text is near to pristine, the hinges are strong and tight, the cloth with only the most minor evidence of age to the extremities, and as is always the case the gilt on the paper label is dulled. FIRST EDITION OF THIS TRULY SCARCE ITEM IN THE HAWTHORNE OEUVRE. Also one of his earlier works, printed nine years prior to THE SCARLET LETTER and a decade prior to THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES. In these early days Hawthorne wrote primarily for children, for whom he was a wonderfully descriptive teller of tales.
GRANDFATHER'S CHAIR retells real stories from America's early days by following the history of a chair brought to America from England in 1630 aboard the good ship 'Arbella'. The chair makes it way through the Colonial and revolutionary periods before finally being purchase by Grandfather at auction. Many famous and infamous people are met along the way. And have no doubt, George Washington sat here!
This early Hawthorne rarity is typically found foxed and worn, this copy is exceptional in its fine condition.