SKETCHES, New and Old by Twain, Mark - 1875

1875. Now First Published in Complete Form. Sold only by Subscription. Hartford, Conn., and Chicago, Ill.: The American Publishing Company, 1875. Original blue cloth decorated in black and gilt.

First Edition, second issue (without "From Hospital Days" on p. 299, a brief piece that appeared in the first issue, then was discovered not to have been written by Twain -- and also without the duplication of the p. 119 footnote). A curiosity of this book is that on the spine the title is reversed, SKETCHES OLD AND NEW. Twain's next book after this, bound similarly, would be THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (1876). This is a bright, near-fine copy (with slight wear at the spine ends, as is often the case); the front endpaper bears the bookplate, ink-stamp, and November 1875 signature of a resident of St. Paul Minnesota. McBride p. 35; Blanck 3364.