TWICE-TOLD TALES

Boston: American Stationers Co., 1837. The First Issue of the True First Edition, very scarce and significantly important. With American Stationers Co.'s circular quill imprint on the title-page. 8vo, publisher's original textured brown/black cloth, with the spine lettered in gilt within a gilt frame. While there are known variations to the bindings no priority is given and all first edition copies are first printing, first issue. Now housed in a handsome light brown cloth-covered folding box with two dark brown morocco labels lettered and ruled in gilt. 4 ads, 334, 16 catalogue pp. An unusually handsome and well preserved copy, very scarce as such, the text with far less than the typical foxing that is always present due to the paper stock used, otherwise extremely clean and fresh, the hinges solid and firm, the binding dark and unfaded with bright gilt, very minor wear or rubbing at the tips and extremities, the front blank free-fly with a small amount of loss to the bottom outside corner, and a short closed tear without loss to the first leaf of the advertisement catalogue, early ownership notation of Eliz. L. Parkman. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, RARE, AND ONLY THE SECOND BOOK PUBLISHED BY HAWTHORNE AND THE FIRST ONE TO ACTUALLY BEAR HIS NAME. As Hawthorne was a young and relatively unknown writer at the time, the print run was understandably rather small, recorded as only 1000 copies printed. That fact, along with the low production values continue to make TWICE-TOLD TALES one of the most scarce of all the author's works.
Released in the spring of 1837, TWICE-TOLD TALES is a collection of short stories all of which had been previously printed only in various magazines and annuals, thus Hawthorne's title of "Twice-Told". The stories had been published anonymously, as was FANSHAWE, his first published book. Hawthorne enjoyed calling the stories 'twice-told' as this was also a reference to Shakespeare's 'King John'. A third aspect of the 'twice-told' scenario is the fact that many of them are ironic retellings of familiar older stories and tropes.
While reviews were largely positive (his college mate from Bowdoin, Henry W. Longfellow, reviewed it in the North American Review with extreme praise) sales were slow, and then were halted completely by the Panic of '37. The book may have been the first to make a name for the author, but it would not make him wealthy. There was no second edition until 1842, and at that time many more tales, and a second volume, were added. That edition was noticed far and wide, and many of the stories have lived on and are now considered American classics.