Henry David Thoreau — First Separate Edition, Number 718 of 750 — David R. Godine, Boston, 1969
In October 1859, days after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Henry David Thoreau stood before the citizens of Concord and delivered the first public defense of Brown from any American platform. No abolitionist committee would sanction it. Thoreau went ahead regardless. The speech, later collected in Echoes of Harper's Ferry and then in Yankee in Canada, remains one of the most direct statements of civil conscience in American letters.
This 1969 David R. Godine edition returns the essay to its first separate book form, set in Bell type on Eltham, a handmade English rag paper, with two oval woodcut portrait vignettes of Brown and Thoreau. This is copy number 718 of an edition limited to 750, hand-numbered at the colophon.
Very Good Plus to Near Fine. No bumping to corners or spine ends. Boards show light toning and colouration consistent with handling and age rather than damage or soiling. Cloth spine sound and unworn. Text block clean, no foxing noted. No dust jacket, as issued.
Shipped from Toronto, Canada with tracking. Carefully packaged with archival-safe materials. Combined shipping available for multiple purchases — please message before paying.
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