CHARLES LARK WITH HIS INSCRIPTION.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Charles L. Webster Company, 1885.  8vo. 366. first edition first state in the ultra rare blue boards. Contains all of the first edition, first state points: Frontispiece with heliograph shows cloth under bust of Twain. 1885 date listed on title page, 1884 on copyright page. Page 9: Huck Decided to Leave instead of Decides. Page 13: Illustration "Him and Another Man" listed incorrectly on page 88. Page 57: 11 lines up, "was" for "saw".   Wear to binding as depicted, cover still bright with gilt, rubbing to spine, head and tail of spine with wear as depicted,  textblock a but shaken, ownership inscription to first blank.

The blue boards of the first edition of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" were indeed meant to match the blue cloth bindings of some editions of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," reflecting a deliberate aesthetic choice by the publishers to create a visual and thematic continuity between Mark Twain's companion novels. This decision to match the colors was aimed at offering a cohesive look to readers and collectors, signaling the connection between the two stories and their shared universe centered around the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. As a result, the blue boards not only contribute to the rarity and desirability of first editions of "Huckleberry Finn" but also underscore the interconnectedness of Twain's work, enhancing their appeal to collectors who value both the literary and historical significance of these classic American novels.