THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER and Other Stories.
New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1922. 4 pp undated ads. Original red cloth with front cover MT monogram in gilt.
First Edition, first printing (with Harper's date code D-W, signifying April 1922); copies without this date code are reprints, even if still dated 1922. Twain's tale "The Mysterious Stranger" was first published in 1916 (illustrated by N.C. Wyeth); for that edition and therefore in this, the tale was unfortunately heavily edited (altered) by Twain's literary executor -- something not corrected until 1969.
But this 1922 book is not merely another printing of that book -- as it includes six additional tales, four of which had not previously appeared in book form. They are "A Fable," "My Platonic Sweetheart," "Hunting the Deceitful Turkey" and "The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm" -- which had appeared only in Harper's Magazine, respectively in 1909, 1912, 1906 and 1882.
This copy has the spine lettering in Blanck's state "C" ("the sequence is not known and the order is arbitrary"). This copy has little soil or wear. The spine lettering appears black (though the front cover monogram is gilt); it is possible that the spine lettering is heavily-oxidized gilt. In any case, this "D-W" first printing is an uncommon book -- as might be expected, since it was published a dozen years after Twain's death, and has a title that wrongly suggested to potential buyers that it was nothing new. Blanck 3534. Item #15900
Price: $425.00