GENUINE 1894 FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING — STATE A

Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain, illustrated by Dan Beard

Charles L. Webster & Co., New York, 1894

AUTHENTICATION & DATING

This copy has been carefully measured and matches the recognized bibliographic point for the earliest binding state (State A), per BAL (Bibliography of American Literature) entry 3440. The spine measures approximately 5 9/16"–5 5/8" between "Twain" and "Webster," matching the published State A measurement (see photos of this measurement taken with digital calipers).

The copyright page reads "Copyright, 1894, S. L. Clemens" with the printer's imprint "Press of Jenkins & McCowan, New York" — confirming genuine period printing, not a modern facsimile reprint.

The rear publisher's ad catalog, bound in as issued, advertises Webster & Co.'s own current editions of Mark Twain's works, including Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Webster & Co. lost the rights to these titles after their 1895 bankruptcy, so this ad catalog — and the printing it's bound into — dates to the brief window of 1894 into very early 1895, consistent with an early printing of this book.

BINDING

Original publisher's cloth binding — this book has never been rebound. Gilt titling and the cover illustration (Tom and Huck fleeing a lion) remain bright and strong.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Complete and verified against the book's own printed "List of Illustrations": frontispiece, 23 in-text plates, and a folding map (25 total entries per BAL 3440) — every listed illustration present and accounted for. No plates missing, loose, or detached.

CONDITION: Very Good

Please examine all photos closely, as they are part of the description. Expected foxing and toning throughout consistent with a 130+ year old book. Some wear to the spine tips (see photos) and a small area of fraying at one corner. Boards are otherwise clean and square, with no odor, no writing, no stamps, no missing pages. Housed in a removable, acid-free archival mylar cover for protection — cover is not permanently affixed and can be removed.

A genuine, well-documented example of a true American first edition Twain title in its original binding, with dating and completeness verified against multiple internal points of evidence.

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