The Scarlet Letter - A Romance
In The Scarlet Letter, the classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne lives in 17th-century Puritan Massachusetts and is publicly shamed for committing adultery. Forced to wear a red "A" on her dress as punishment, she grapples with raising her illegitimate daughter and tries to keep the identity of the child's father a secret. The story delves into themes of guilt, redemption, and the consequences of sin.
This copy includes a Hawthorne SIGNED document from Port of Salem Custom House affixed to the end page prior to the page of ads at front of book. This signed Custom House document is similar to documents found at the Philips Research Library of the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), which has an extensive collection of Hawthorne material.
In 1846, Hawthorne secured the role of Surveyor for the District of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts. The signed document housed within this copy is dated May 2, 1848, marking a time towards the end of his service at the Custom House. Throughout his tenure, Hawthorne found himself struggling to write. Shortly after his departure from the post, owing to a shift in political tides, Hawthorne began writing The Scarlet Letter. Released in 1850, the novel is prefaced with an autobiographical sketch ("The Custom House") in which Hawthorne recounts his three years at the Custom House and alludes to some of the local political dynamics. The introduction serves as a frame narrative for the rest of the novel, and it serves as a link between Hawthorne's personal experiences and his fiction. The document's presence in this book adds a profound dimension, forming a tangible nexus between Hawthorne's real-life endeavors and his writing of one of the most famous novels in American literature.
Hardcover. Second Edition, First Issue. Metcalf and Company on copyright page. 7 1/4 x 5. [1], vi, 1-322 pp. Bound in blue goatskin with red letter "A" on front cover, double gilt rule border. Spine in six compartments, raised bands, gilt letters on red leather, gilt letter "A" inside triple gilt ruled floral borders in three compartments. Top edge gilt. Light blue end pages. Original brown cloth covers and spine mounted at rear of volume. Issue points: title in red and black. Ads dated October 1, 1849 between end pages prior to title page; no "Preface to the Second Edition"; p. 21/20 "reduplicate" for "repudiate"; p. 41/5 "characterss"; p.100/2 "mortal for "moral"; p. 102/22 (truncated) "tobelieve"; p. 132/39 has "catechims"; p.142/23 "heaven" for "heavenly"; p. 189/23 "said" corrected to "answered"; p.199/4 "known of it" corrected to "had they known it"; p. 321 has the number "21" below the word "there" at foot of page. Final page of contents has VI and not IV, which is corrected. Boston: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, 1850. #10438.
Minor repair evident at the spine's top. The binding remains secure, with a few pages showing light soiling, but mostly clean and bright. Overall condition: Very Good.