Mark Twain, A Dog Tale, 1st/1st 1904 illustrated
"A Dog's Tale", by Mark Twain, color plates and cover illustration by W.T. Smedley, first edition of this short story published by Harper & Brothers, first printing with all points of the First printing present: boxed "issued in September 1904" without Harper code on the copyright page, and "1904" on the title page (see BAL 3483)
"My father was a St.Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me; I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me they are only fine large words meaning nothing. My mother had a fondness for such; she liked to say them, and see other docks look surprised and envious, as wondering how she got so much education.
But, indeed, it was not real education; it was only show: she got the words by listening in the dining-room and drawing-room when there was company, and by going with the children to Sunday-school and listening there; and whenever she heard a large word she said it over to herself many times ..."
William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920), American artist, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, of a Quaker. He worked on a newspaper, then studied engraving and art in Philadelphia, in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and--after making a tour of the South Seas--in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. He settled in New York City in 1880; in 1882 went with the Marquis of Lorne through Canada, preparing sketches for Picturesque Canada; and in 1905 became a member of the National Academy of Design. Most of his work was magazine and book illustration for stories of modern life, but he painted portraits and watercolors, and received the Evans Prize of the American Water Color Society in 1890, and a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $14.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ---- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $37.50
Condition Report: Hard boards, original full pictorial red cloth, decorated front board [some soiling and wear, spine fade, bumped bottom corner of the front board: see photos); 5.1/2" x 8", 36 pages + 4 color plates, a little foxing and a little soiling, some wear [see photos], good+/ very good condition.
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"A Dog's Tale", by Mark Twain, color plates and cover illustration by W.T. Smedley, first edition of this short story published by Harper & Brothers, first printing with all points of the First printing present: boxed "issued in September 1904" without Harper code on the copyright page, and "1904" on the title page (see BAL 3483)
"My father was a St.Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me; I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me they are only fine large words meaning nothing. My mother had a fondness for such; she liked to say them, and see other docks look surprised and envious, as wondering how she got so much education.
But, indeed, it was not real education; it was only show: she got the words by listening in the dining-room and drawing-room when there was company, and by going with the children to Sunday-school and listening there; and whenever she heard a large word she said it over to herself many times ..."
William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920), American artist, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, of a Quaker. He worked on a newspaper, then studied engraving and art in Philadelphia, in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and--after making a tour of the South Seas--in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens. He settled in New York City in 1880; in 1882 went with the Marquis of Lorne through Canada, preparing sketches for Picturesque Canada; and in 1905 became a member of the National Academy of Design. Most of his work was magazine and book illustration for stories of modern life, but he painted portraits and watercolors, and received the Evans Prize of the American Water Color Society in 1890, and a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900.
US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ---------- $14.50
Canada: Priority (c.2-6 weeks) ---- $27.50
World: Priority (c.2-8 weeks) ----- $37.50
Condition Report: Hard boards, original full pictorial red cloth, decorated front board [some soiling and wear, spine fade, bumped bottom corner of the front board: see photos); 5.1/2" x 8", 36 pages + 4 color plates, a little foxing and a little soiling, some wear [see photos], good+/ very good condition.
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