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Walden or Life in the Woods
by Thoreau, Henry David
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854. First Edition. Octavo. 357 pp., 8 pp. of ads situated between the rear pale yellow endpapers, vignette title page showing Thoreau's cottage he built himself, a lithographic map of Waldon Pond, and with a bookseller's ticket on the front free endpaper "Sold by A. Stacy, Bookseller, Concord, MA." Bookseller John Stacy also served as the librarian to the library housed in back of his store in Concord's Mill Dam business district. The library was owned jointly and used by several shareholders including Ralph Waldo Emerson who served one term as president. John Stacy's son Albert succeeded him in 1850. While the bookseller's ticket states "Sold by" Albert never sold the book in his shop, however when Walden was published, he purchased a copy for $0.75 presumably for the library. In his book, Thoreau writes "One of my greatest luxuries has been in books..., good books I value beyond most all else in the world of earthly treasures, after my family." Bound in publishers brown embossed cloth, spine lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers, light wear to spine ends and corners, two signatures a bit sprung. In all, a handsome clean copy housed within a custom leather backed clamshell.
Synopsis
From the book:When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again. I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent. Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference. We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking. I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience. Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me. Perhaps these pages are more particularly addressed to poor students. As for the rest of my readers, they will accept such portions as apply to them. I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Alcuin Books, ABAA-ILAB
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 023364
- Title
- Walden or Life in the Woods
- Author
- Thoreau, Henry David
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Ticknor and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1854
- Keywords
- Walden Pond Albert Stacy John Stacy
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
Alcuin Books, ABAA-ILAB
We accept Visa, MC, American Express and Discover. All books are carefully described and may be returned within ten day if the customer is not satisfied. Members ABAA, ILAB. Shipping is $5 for US orders based on books weighing 2 lbs. Worldwide shipping available.
About the Seller
Alcuin Books, ABAA-ILAB
Biblio member since 2006
Scottsdale, Arizona
About Alcuin Books, ABAA-ILAB
Alcuin Books located in Old Town Scottsdale is a store with 15,000 serious books for the collector or scholar. We have ample parking in front of the store for those who wish to browse our holdings.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- Vignette
- A decorative design or illustration placed at the beginning or end of a ...
- 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...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- 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....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
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