“THE SOCIAL IMPACT WAS GREATER THAN ANY BOOK BEFORE OR SINCE”: FIRST ISSUE OF UNCLE TOM’S CABIN

STOWE, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin; Or, Life Among the Lowly. Boston: John P. Jewett; Cleveland: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, 1852. Two volumes. Octavo, original purple cloth gilt, original cream endpapers. Housed in custom chemises and clamshell box. $13,800.

First edition, first issue, of Stowe’s classic and vastly influential novel, with title vignettes and six wood-engravings.

"In the emotion-charged atmosphere of mid-19th century America Uncle Tom's Cabin exploded like a bombshell. To those engaged in fighting slavery it appeared as an indictment of all the evils inherent in the system they opposed; to the pro-slavery forces it was a slanderous attack on 'the Southern way of life'… the social impact of [the novel] on the United States was greater than that of any book before or since" (PMM 332). "Within a decade after its publication Uncle Tom's Cabin had become the most popular novel ever written by an American… there is substantial evidence that the book precipitated the American Civil War" (Downs, Books That Changed America, 108). It first appeared in weekly chapters in the periodical National Era, starting on June 5, 1851. This is the first issue in book form, with "spilt" (rather than "spiled") in Volume I, 42, line 1; "cathecism" (rather than "catechism") in Volume II, 74, line 5; and all other first issue points. Later editions attribute the wood-engravings to Boston architect Hammatt Billings. BAL 19343, B binding (purple "T" cloth, no priority established). Grolier English 100, 91. Grolier American 100, 61. Sabin 92457. Contemporary pencil owner signatures. Small bookseller tickets.

Light scattered soiling to interiors, only slight rubbing and faint spotting to original cloth, a bit of toning mainly to extremities. An extremely good copy.