Click for full-size.
The House of the Seven Gables
by HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine
- Seller
-
Gloucester City, New Jersey, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1851. Hardcover. Near Fine. First edition, third issue, one of 2051 copies thus (BAL). Octavo. 344pp., with a four-page publisher's catalogue dated May, 1851 inserted at the front. Publisher's brown decorative cloth stamped in blind on both covers, gilt spine, cream-yellow endpapers. Binder's ticket: "From D. Bugbee's Bookstore and Bindery," and contemporary owner's name in ink on front pastedown. A few tiny nicks at head and tail of spine and corner tips, spine gilt lightly faded, near fine. Along with *The Scarlet Letter*, one of Hawthorne's two great novels, this one more an extension of his classic, allegorical short fiction, based on a curse supposedly set on Hawthorne's own family during the infamous Salem witchcraft trials. An unusually fine and bright, unrestored copy. *BAL* 7604.
Synopsis
First published in 1851, The House of the Seven Gables is one of Hawthorne's defining works, a vivid depiction of American life and values, replete with brilliantly etched characters. The tale of a cursed house with a "mysterious and terrible past" and the generations linked to it, Hawthorne's chronicle of the Maule and Pyncheon families over two centuries reveals, in Mary Oliver's words, "lives caught in the common fire of history." In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family's salvation--or its downfall. Hawthorne called The House of the Seven Gables "a Romance," and freely bestowed upon it many fascinating gothic touches. A brilliant intertwining of the popular, the symbolic, and the historical, the novel is a powerful exploration of personal and national guilt, a work that Henry James declared "the closest approach we are likely to have to the Great American Novel." .
Read More: Identifying first editions of The House of the Seven Gables
Reviews
On Jun 6 2016, a reader said:
I just found a hard back cover edition of this great book on my mother-in-laws book case. She received it for a Christmas present in 1941. It has a number 53 stamped into its back cover. I'm reading it now and enjoying the writers craft and story. I became intrigued with Hawthorne's style and decided to look it up. Thank you for your review and priceless information about the book and the author. I will treasure my copy and forever be grateful to my husbands sweet mother for giving me this window into the past through The House to the Seven Gables. A beautiful reading experience for years to come.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 573138
- Title
- The House of the Seven Gables
- Author
- HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed, and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1851
- Keywords
- AmerLit19thCent, Bindings
Terms of Sale
Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
All books are first editions unless otherwise noted. All books are returnable within ten days if returned in the same condition as sent. We accept VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DISCOVER, PAYPAL, checks and money orders. New Jersey residents please add 6.625% sales tax. All items guaranteed, all items subject to prior sale. Members ABAA, ILAB. Shipping is $4.50 for Media Mail, $10.00 for Priority Mail or UPS Ground. Tracking is provided for every order. Alternate shipping available by request. Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.
About the Seller
Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
Biblio member since 2005
Gloucester City, New Jersey
About Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc., founded in 1985, specializes in first editions of 20th Century American and English fiction. Our inventory of over 75,000 first editions includes: African-American literature & history, Mysteries, Detective Fiction, Drama, Books into Film and Sports books. We routinely issue extensively illustrated color catalogs, available by subscription. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA)and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). Tom Congalton, founder of Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc., actively promotes the ethics and standards of these professional organizations and served as President of the ABAA from 2000 to 2002.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Cleaning and repairing leather books
Wondering how to take care of the leather books in your collection? Renowned book care expert Bern Marcowitz explains how and when to clean and repair leather books.
Collecting the 1939 New York World’s Fair
Born in the midst of the Great Depression, the theme of the 1939 World’s Fair was “The World of Tomorrow” - a theme that captured the hearts of a generation. Check out the maps, souvenirs, and other ephemera on Biblio!
