THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER The Text Edited and with an Introduction by Bernard DeVoto With a Prologue "Boy's Manuscript" Printed for the First Time

LIMITED EDITION, one of 1500 copies hand-numbered and SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR. Illustrated with drawings both full-page and within the text by Thomas Hart Benton, the drawings beautifully printed in black and sepia. Large 8vo, in the publisher's original binding of blue denim cloth, the spine with a glossy yellow paper label printed in black, in the original glassine wrapper and original slipcase designed to be reminiscent of a whitewashed fence xxx, [2] ,340 pp. An essentially pristine copy, as near as mint as one is likely to encounter. The book is without flaw, the very rarely encountered glassine wrapper fine but for one tear with no loss along the bottom edge and minute wear at the foot of the spine, the slipcase is also well preserved with only a little wear and spitting to the paper along one panel.

Edizione: the best copy we know of, the limited editions club issue of one of the great landmark books of american literature. this very handsome edition of tom sawyer was designed by carl purington rollins and printed at the university press. one of the great american illustrators, thomas hart benton, has provided a whopping 70 original drawings for the edition, 35 of which are full page. a kansas city artist, benton captures old missouri and the midwestern colloquialism of twain's masterpiece most eloquently.<br> the edition is edited and has a new introduction by pulitzer-prize-winning historian bernard devoto. an authority on mark twain, devoto served as curator and editor for twain's papers; this work culminated in several publications, including the best-selling letters from the earth, which appeared only in 1962. from 1936 to 1938, he worked in new york city, where he was editor of the saturday review of literature. his essay "boy's manuscript" is published here for the first time.<br> little needs to be said about tom sawyer, it is now thought to be (along with huckleberry finn) one of the great stepping stones to the modern american novel. it, like whitman’s leaves of grass and melville’s moby dick, typifies and describes the american spirit. to this day, it remains a cornerstone of american literature.