WALDEN; By Henry David Thoreau / With Wood-engravings by Thomas W. Nason / Collector's Edition / Bound in Genuine Leather

Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1981. Collector's Edition. Full Leather with 22kt gold-stamping. Like New. Thomas W. Nason. 8vo (8 1/4" x 5 3/8" x 1 3/8"); light brown genuine leather with decorative leafy gold inlays on spine and covers + 4 hubs; wood-engraving depicting Thoreau's cabin at Walden; very handsomely illustrated with wood-engravings made from new views at Walden by Thomas Nason + Thoreau as frontispiece & 5 full-page B&W plates (facing pp. 54, 146, 190, 244, 318 ), ~ 13 in-text vignettes, ~ 13 chapter headings, ~ 14 tailpieces; oxblood watered-silk endpapers; all page edges gilded with .22k gold leaf [a.e.g.]; 335 pages + [1] Colophon. Weight: 1 lb. 10 oz. Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. A leading Transcendentalist, Thoreau is best known for his books WALDEN, his reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history.<br /> <br /> The illustrator, Thomas W. Nason (1889-1971), a farmboy from Massachusetts, taught himself how to create woodcuts; then make detailed wood-engravings. Called "The Poet Engraver of New England," Nason created detailed naturalistic prints and related works distinguished by technical mastery and realism. <br /> <br /> Thomas W. Nason is fondly remembered for his illustrations of rural New England and to some of Robert Frost's favorite poems such as "The Woodpile" and "The Road Not Taken." Nason also illustrated William Cullen Bryant and here-splendidly--Henry David Thoreau. .<br /> <br /> Like New! Very tight, bright, and clean. Brilliant and crisp unfoxed woodcuts. Lacks publisher's pamphlet on Walden. No previous owner markings.