THE MAN THAT CORRUPTED HADLEYBURG and Other Stories and Essays.
Illustrated. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1900. 2 pp undated ads. Original red cloth with front cover monogram device in gilt.
First Edition, first issue. The title story, one of Twain's darker themes, is "a parable about a smug all-American town whose citizens, never having been tempted, take pride in their honesty. A stranger sets in motion a test of their honor, and they fail" [MacDonnell].
The first issue, as here, has sheets bulking 1-1/16 inch and has "[page 2" on the plate facing page 2. Condition is fine except for some faint speckling of the (blank) rear cover; there is little of the fading of the spine that is typical for these red turn-of-the-century Twain titles. This first edition (bearing the date 1900 on the FRONT of the title leaf) is curiously scarce. McBride p. 200; Blanck 3459. Item #15026
Price: $525.00