A Yankee In King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain, First Ed, Second State 1889. 

This is a great copy of A Yankee In King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, and it is a first edition in the second state, published by Charles Webster in 1889. It is in the second state because it has “A Yankee In King Arthur’s Court” on the spine and on the front cover and the full title “A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court” on the title page and it lacks the S device between the words “The King” on page 59, and it has clear unbroken type at the bottom of page 72. It is also lacking the half-title on the recto (the reverse) of the frontispiece. 

The book measures 8 5/8 x 7 inches wide, with the original green boards, a gilt title and gilt devices on the spine, a gilt title and multi-colored decorations on the front cover, patterned endpapers with the owners name on the front paste-down, four pages of Contents, a six-page list of Illustrations, a one-page Preface by Mark Twain, 575 pages of text, and two pages of ads at the rear for books published by Charles Webster. The book is in very good condition, with a solid binding and clean pages and text, the spine has a light bump on the crown and light wear at the heel, light wear at the tips, and the tips are slightly turned in. 

First editions in the first state go for up to $3500, and first editions in the second state range anywhere from $800 up to $1500 on the rare book website we use. 
 

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