The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-06
PRECIOUS HAWTHORNE Mss.
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M ,,tmi0e toms ~ this character having
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.sJ rrs ding In other han,is, N Was ~.
,r,,si haYever that the naHlscfipta0f The
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.s.,,iw.Is Potion and tD hpoka. sorne ~
mem ars, cii,iona ~ H~awthornr's works.
,ed manv autograph letters written ny
MIN nat lern destroyed ~ IRE ~ dam
,sei Uy enirf and smoke
~ The hre had really destroyed these val
nsbIa autographs and hooks. II would havs
srhsnrpi In an extraordinary manner, n
course the value ~ tho remaining Haws
,bortr literary relies, the majority ~ which
arc more highly valued, indeei, than those
NJ any other American author with the err
cepliar n Poe. An interesting example
n the market value ~ Hawthorne relics Ia
tho ro,eli-t'a copy ~ the valpy edition of
Shakespeare. London. 1851. comprising four
teen II tho original fifteen volumes. Vol.
being lacking
1T WIS aold AZ auction In thls city In March.
1875. FOR 81 400. and was shortly afterward
reeold AT a larger prioe to a Brooklyn COL
lec'or Each volume contains HHw thorne's
Autograph signature. the frat volume con-
tanning. in addition. an inscription In his
hlndwriting stating that this copy had been
presented TO him. In November, 1852, by
Ticknor's. the publishing firm which issued
the Scarlet Letter. The House Of the Seven
Gables. The Blithndale Romance The
Marble Faun,' &c.
The manuscript CO The Bltledale
Romance reported to have been burned In
the Yonkers fire. was never owned by
Hawthorne's son, but FIRMS a prominent
part OF an extremely important collection
OF American first editions and autographs
formed by a wealthy New York bibliophile,
who values this manuscript at $4,000.
He has refused, in fact, an offer Of 81 500 for
It, made by a firm Of rare book dealers about
q year ago.
"The manuscript originally belonged to
William d. Ticknor, Hawthorne's pub
isher, and passed from him to his son, who
sold it about twenty years ago to the late
Bishop John Fletcher Hurst for only $500.
Shortly before his death Bishop Hurst
resold 1t to the Arm Of dealers referred to
above, who disposed Of it at private sale to
its present owner, the selling price said to
be about 1000, one-ffth OF it's valuation
to-day. It contains POI pages, closely writ
ten in Hawthorne's small, characteristic
hand. and is bound in a quarto volume in
boards.
'Of the original manuscript Of The Scar
let Letter. also reported to have been
burned, only the first leaf now exists, a
foolscap leaf, containing on one side the
title page and on the reverse he list of con-
tents, both in Hawthorne's autograph.
The remainder Of the manuscript was de-
stroyed in Cambridge, Mass, in 1850 in the
printing house Of Metcalf 4 Co., who issued
the first edition that year for the Boston
publishers, Ticknor. Reed & Fields.
Fortunately Mr.. Metcalf preserved this
first leaf, which remained in his family
until a comparatively recent date, when it
was purchased for $500 by George M. Will
hanson Of Conwall-on- Hudson. At the
Williamson sale in this city, in March, 1904,
II was offered for sale, but brought only
sis, the low price. chiefly being due to the
fact that 1t was badly catalogued, no refer
ence being made to the destruction Of the
remainder Of the manuscript. II this fact
had been generally known on that occasion
this precious leaf would undoubtedly have
brought at least 8 $1,000.
4The Williamson sale also included the
manuscripts of Two Of Hawthome's tales;
'Feathertop, A Moralized Legend com
prising twenty quarto pages, which brought
$3.50, and The Ancestral Footstep,' con.
sisting Of eighty eight quarto pages, which
fetched $3.50.
'Feathertop,' written In 1851, appeared
IN the International Monthly Magazine, a
New York publication, in February and
March, 1852. and was afterward reprinted
in a revised edition Of Moses From ar
Old Manse,' Boston, 1884. The Ancestral
Footstep,' the more interesting Of the two
manuscripts, is written in the form OF a
diary, the dates appearing at the begin
ming Of each paragraph relating to the day
on which Hawthorne wrote that portion.
~ ~ udtc 10 hpIu ~ loOo, uIu tlt
last May 10, 1868. 1t was evidently com.
posed just before the novelist went to Italy
to write The Marble Faun,' and seems tc
be the first draft Of a theme which he in
tended to use in a novel. The manuscript
closes with q sketch Of the intended con.
clusion.
The manuscripts OF these two stories
together with the first leaf Of The Scarlet
Letter. are now in the possession OF the
owner Of the manuscript Of The Blithedale
Romance the New York bibliophile, whose
library includes the oompletest INT finest
known collection of Hawthorne relics
This remarkable collection, the existence
Of which is known TO few persons outside
OF collectors and dealers, includes many
original manuscripts and autograph letter.
OF high importance, Immaculate copies Of
all the first editions Of this authors works
and a large number Of books from his
library, some of them being Hawthorne,
personal copies Of his best known works.
'The chief feature Of this collection
which Is valued at about $50, 900, Is o serieI
OF manuscript journals comprising hfteer
large quarto volumes, all in HAWTHORNE
handwriting, and covering the years 1887
16o Thu, ;-aI.Iz A. ,.ako~tol anlaDtaf