Dr. Boli promised more rare first editions as part of his plot to disseminate virtual communism through the Internet. Here is another handful, again made up of American authors. The capitalist running-dog lackeys of imperialism cannot long stand against the relentless assault of virtual collectivism. We begin with Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote exactly one novel, which has always been one of the least read of his works.

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Comprising the details of a mutiny and atrocious butchery on board the American brig Grampus, on her way to the South Seas, in the month of June, 1827. With an account of the recapture of the vessel by the survivers; their shipwreck and subsequent horrible suffering from famine; their deliverance by means of the British schooner Jane Guy; the brief cruise of the latter vessel in the Antarctic Ocean; her capture, and the massacre of her crew among a group of islands in the eighty-fourth parallel of southern latitude; together with the incredible adventures and discoveries still farther south to which that distressing calamity gave rise. New-York: Harper & Brothers, 1838. —America’s most notoriously difficult critic called this “a very silly book.” That critic, of course, was Edgar Allan Poe, who began this story in the Southern Literary Messenger (where, you might say, he was very intimate with the editor), abandoned it, and picked it up later, all apparently with no notion of how the story was going to turn out in the end. In fact, it would not be too much to say that it never does turn out in the end. It is worth noting that this story is not the first depiction in fiction of a warm climate at the South Pole, The Monikins by Fenimore Cooper having preceded it by three years. This is the first American edition, in a very good scan at archive.org.

Now we turn to a forgotten sensation novel by an author who was quite popular in his time: J. W. De Forest, who is remembered today only as the author of Miss Ravenel’s Conversion from Secession to Loyalty, a Civil War novel remarkable for giving away its entire plot in its title. De Forest does not make the same mistake in this novel, a story of the Wilkie Collins school involving a murder, the victim’s will, and every clue pointing toward the hero.

The Wetherel Affair. J. W. De Forest. New York: Sheldon and Company, 1873. —Google Books misreads the date as 1878, owing to a poor scan of the title page. Dr. Boli is quite certain about the date 1873 because he has a copy of this edition (which is the first) in his own enormous library, bound in a volume with two American editions of novels by Dumas, making a very thick book marked “Miscellaneous Novels” on the spine.

Returning to a writer who has certainly not been forgotten, Dr. Boli presents not one but two copies of the first edition of The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is sometimes worth while to have a second copy of a scanned book, since the overworked librarians who do the work of scanning sometimes slip.

The House of the Seven Gables. A romance. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1851.
Another copy.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is far more famous as a poet than as a novelist, and his most famous stories—Evangeline and Hiawatha—were written in verse. His prose romances have been largely forgotten, though the poet’s reputation kept them running through edition after edition through most of the latter nineteenth century.

Hyperion, a romance. By the author of “Outre-Mer.” New York: Published by Samuel Colman, 1839. —This first edition is exceedingly rare, since the publisher failed, and half the edition was seized by creditors and probably never heard from again. Longfellow revised the text somewhat in later editions. The romance, as was usual for the time, was published in two volumes; Dr. Boli has cobbled together a complete set for you from a copy of the first volume (in a very good scan) at archive.org and a copy of the second at Google Books.

Volume I (at archive.org).

Volume II (at Google Books).

 

Finally, Herman Melville again. Moby-Dick was a failure; but Melville might have recovered from it if he had returned to writing more simpleminded sea tales, full of fetching Polynesian lasses garbed only by Nature. Instead, he gave the world Pierre; or, the Ambiguities, and drove a stake through the heart of his reputation as a commercial author. Nowadays, of course, far more more people read Pierre than read the disposable novels that succeeded where Pierre failed.

Pierre; or, the Ambiguities. By Herman Melville. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1852.

—

YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A RARE FIRST EDITION
OF A FUTURE AMERICAN CLASSIC

The Crimes of Galahad, now available in paperback, for Kindle, or for Nook.

Communism was a delightful idea, was it not? The humblest worker should be elevated to the level of the richest aristocrat, and all the advantages of education and material prosperity that once belonged only to the wealthiest should now be showered upon the whole population indiscriminately. And if the promise was not fulfilled as well as the projectors of communism had hoped, we may charitably lay the blame at the feet of a recalcitrant reality, rather than supposing any want of effort on the part of the communists. The real world refuses to produce luxuries in quantities sufficient to make every resident of it a decadent aristocrat, and until some strong measures are taken to bring reality in line with our expectations of it, truly successful communism may be out of human reach.

On the Internet, however, we are freed from the galling constraints of reality. When possessions are virtual, they can be multiplied without limit, and everyone with an Internet connection may possess what in the real world would be beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest.

How much would an autographed first edition of Moby-Dick be worth? There cannot be many such things in existence. The book was a failure on its first publication; no more than a few thousand of the first edition were printed, and many unsold copies were doubtless destroyed. But Dr. Boli, whose generosity with things that do not belong to him knows no bounds, stands ready to give each of you, his loyal readers, an autographed first edition of Melville’s masterpiece. This is the first American edition, from which every accurate edition is derived,—not the botched English edition that slightly preceded it.

Moby-Dick; or, the Whale. By Herman Melville. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. London: Richard Bentley. 1851. (Look in the end-papers, before the title page, for Melville’s autograph.)

Moby-Dick is certainly one of the most famous American novels of all time. Mr. Melville dedicated it to his good friend Nathaniel Hawthorne, who, just one year before, had published The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne’s book was a decided success, and it would not be too much to say that American fiction falls easily into two eras: before and after The Scarlet Letter. In this color scan of the first edition, we discover that the title itself was printed in scarlet letters:

The Scarlet Letter, A Romance. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1850.

J. Fenimore Cooper was the writer who gave the United States a place among the literary nations, rivaling Sir Walter Scott as a purveyor of adventure tales, and almost universally acknowledged in his time as the greatest master of the sea story. He wrote prolifically and in all genres, and made one fascinating attempt at a Swiftian satire:

The Monikins; Edited by the Author of “The Spy.” In two volumes [both included in this scan]. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1835. —The first American edition, at archive.org.

The Monikins, incidentally, though it was an embarrassing failure in 1835, has gained a surprising second life among fans of science-fiction. It tells the story of an English aristocrat and a Stonington sea-captain who meet a race of intelligent monkeys living around the South Pole.

We also have a later tale by Cooper:

The Wing-and-Wing, or Le Feu-Follet; A tale, by the author of “The Pilot,” &c., &c. In two volumes. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1842. —Both volumes are included in this scan. Cooper’s tales were often published under different names in America and Europe, and often the name changed in later editions. This tale is the same one published in other editions as The Jack-o-Lantern or The Privateer.

There are many more interesting first editions out there, and Dr. Boli is very generous, if not downright extravagant, with other people’s virtual possessions. Look for more such valuable free gifts in the near future.