Uncle Tom's Cabin, or

Life Among the Lowly

Harriet Beecher Stowe

1852 -- Boston: John P. Jewett

As a young woman, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) witnessed vicious race riots in 1836 & 1841 and heard stories told by runaway slaves. Later, she was revolted by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and joined the Underground Railroad. She decided that "the time is come when [whoever] can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak." So she put pen to paper.  

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" hit the North like lightning. It opened eyes, and made the Civil War inevitable. Stowe's book also galvanized the South. Hate-mail reportedly included one envelope with a severed Black person's ear in it. Stowe would meet President Lincoln in 1862. Her son later wrote that Lincoln called her "that little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."

More immediately, the intense demand for the book pushed John P. Jewett's publishing house to the limit. He had made an initial run of 5,000 copies in March. They sold out in a week. By May he had produced & sold 40,000 copies, by early summer 100,000. By the end of 1852, 300,000 copies of the book had been sold. It was a phenomenon never seen before in the printing world.

This set is in the 40th Thousand printing, so is quite early. And amazingly, it is still bound in its contemporary/original half-leather binding, with marbled boards! Clearly bought as a set, and maintained together for over 170 years.

CONDITION

VG to VG+ Antiquarian. Anyone who has looked for these books knows how hard it is to find nice ones. Jewett only kept up with demand by cutting corners. So these books very often just fall apart. Not this set! Covers are still beautiful, boards straight, corners and marbled paper show light typical shelfwear (conserved & color-matched). Spines intact, including heads & tails. Joints conserved, strengthened, & color-matched.

Inside, books are complete including endpapers & all 6 engravings. No bookplates, stamps, crimps, NOT ex-libris. The books clearly have a history. Vol I has marbled endpapers, whereas Vol II's endpapers are just blank paper. And Vol I's title page was seemingly re-set in antiquity. Bindings good & strong. Vol I has a few sprung gatherings but everything is still firmly attached. Vol II amazingly has nothing sprung!

Pages are tanned, with typical occasional foxing from the paper stock Jewett had to use, plus various smudges, healed dog-ears, nicks, and a couple tears repaired with acid-free archival tissue. These books were workhorses, read & re-read, shared & passed around. For them to be still fully intact and strongly bound is amazing!

VALUATION

If you're viewing this auction, you know these books stand out in terms of quality and starting price. If you wanted a really early, nice set -- in rare half-leather binding -- that can still be opened, held, and read, it's hard to do better than this. Don't miss it! Good Luck & Happy Bidding.

*** FREE SHIPPING & INSURANCE ***

7 3/4" x 5 1/4"

Vol I: 312pp

Vol II: 322pp