Letters from the Sandwich Islands
California Stanford: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1938. First Edition. Bound in dark and light green cloth with images of palm trees. With a contemporary letter from a student to his professor at principia College.
8.75 x 5.75 inches
224 pp.
English
Fine. Letters from the Sandwich Islands
Mark Twain
1938
Stanford University Press, Stanford University, California; London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press
8.75 x 5.75 inches
224 pp.
English
Fine
A collection of Mark Twain’s letters originally written for the Sacramento Union, recounting his travels and experiences in Hawaii during the 1860s. Blending travel narrative, cultural observation, and Twain’s characteristic wit, these letters represent an early and important phase of his literary development. The volume includes an introduction and conclusion by G. Ezra Dane and is illustrated throughout with in-text drawings by Dorothy Grover.
This copy contains a signed ownership inscription by Curtis Foster on the endpaper, along with an original handwritten letter on Principia College letterhead, also signed by Foster, and found tucked inside the book. The letter is dated “June 9th, Thursday.” Calendar confirmation places June 9 on a Thursday in 1938, making the letter contemporaneous with the year of publication. It is addressed to Dr. Edwin S. Leonard, Jr., Associate Professor of English at Principia College, who had been on the faculty since 1929 and later authored As the Sowing, the official history of The Principia. The letter thanks Dr. Leonard and his wife for hosting regular Sunday evening gatherings centered on discussion and conversation, providing a small but personal window into the mindset and daily life of a Principia College student during this period.
Light green and dark green cloth binding with palm tree imagery. Illustrated title page and in-text illustrations throughout.
It is in Fine condition. Slight bumping to the top corners of the boards. The text remains clean and well preserved, aside from the ownership inscription. The accompanying letter is intact and legible. Fine. Item #65
Price: $75.00