Cabbages and Kings First Edition - O. Henry

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Cabbages and Kings

O. HENRY | William Sidney PORTER

Item#: 100541 We're sorry, this item has been sold

FIRST EDITION OF O. HENRY’S FIRST BOOK, CABBAGES AND KINGS

HENRY, O. (PORTER, William Sydney). Cabbages and Kings. New York: McClure, Phillips, 1904. Octavo, original green- and orange-stamped pictorial black cloth. Housed in a custom chemise and slipcase.

First edition of the author’s first book.

A collection of loosely connected stories with shared characters, Cabbages and Kings is a novel of revolution and adventure in Latin America. Porter lived in the region for several years after fleeing prosecution for embezzlement in Texas; he returned when his wife was on her deathbed and began writing fiction during his subsequent imprisonment. First state, with “McClure, Phillips & Co.” on spine. BAL 16270. Ink notation.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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