1894 – Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson – Mark Twain | First Edition First Printing

A rare first edition of Mark Twain’s satire novel The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Told in typical Twain fashion, infants switched at birth reveal their true colors as DNA encoding takes precedence over environment. Set during the early years of the 19th century, this pre-Civil War satire tackles social commentary issues still being debated today. Twain presents the reader with a light-skinned black mother switching her infant with her white master’s in order to prevent her own child being raised as a slave. Twain uses humor and irony in revealing seething levels of racism and classicism. This first edition meets the expected points for the first state of this book. See below for details.   Bibliographic Details Title: The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson: And the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins Author(s): Mark Twain Publisher: Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company Edition: First Edition. 1894. Title-page in black and red Frontispiece inserted (i.e. on different paper) Page size: 8 ¾” scant x 5 ¾” Issued in cloth Binding: Decorative cloth hardcover Format: (8vo), single volume Size:  9in x 6.25in (23cm x 16cm) Collation: 432 pp Illustrations: Numerous illustrations including frontispiece Contents Include: The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson, full text Reference(s): BAL 3442   Condition: Very Good. Binding firm with light external wear. Spine ends and corners gently worn. Pages show mild toning and scattered foxing. Text block solid. Illustrations clear. No markings or repairs noted.   Why Collect This? First printing with all points present   Item Number: #50037 Categories Americana, American History Literature Civil War Authors Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) Printing Date 19th Century Language English Binding Hardcover Book Condition Very Good Collation Complete