First edition of The Spirit of French Letters by Mabell S.C. Smith, published September 1912 by The Macmillan Company, New York.

This copy features a handwritten 1912 Christmas inscription by the author (“Dear Miss Mary, with Mabell’s love, Christmas 1912”) — making it an author-signed presentation copy.

Also bears the bookplate of John A. Seaverns, an important collector whose extensive library of equestrian and sporting books became part of Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. His bookplate is highly regarded among collectors for its distinctive heraldic horse motif and provenance value.

Blue cloth boards with gilt lettering on cover and spine. Interior includes a small period newspaper clipping referencing the author’s lecture.

Very good. Clean, tightly bound text; some light toning to pages and endpapers. Mild shelf wear to boards.

A rare association copy linking author Mabell S.C. Smith and collector John A. Seaverns, both figures of note in early 20th-century literary and academic circles.