1885 1st edition, early state, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Many early issue points present

An 1885 first edition of Mark Twain's American classic Huckleberry Finn, with many of the issue "points" (things to look for) that indicate it is a very early first edition. This copy not perfect (see condition below) but sound and a cost-effective example of an early impression.

This copy exhibits the three essential first-issue points:

Contents page (p.9) listing “Huck Decided to Leave” (later corrected to “Decides”),

Illustrations list (p.13) with “Him and another Man” incorrectly at page 88,

Text (p.57) reading “with the was” instead of “with the saw.”

Further early-state features present include:

Frontispiece portrait of Twain by the Heliotype Printing Co., with cloth visible beneath,

Page 21 caption under illustration badly printed (faint and broken),

Page 143 with the “l” in “Col.” broken, "Co" crooked (it took me a minute to realize this means the word that starts the paragraph, not the caption under the illustration) and the “B” in the seventh line defective,

Copyright page dated 1884 (as in earliest issues).

No signature mark "11" at page 161.

Later corrected states (as commonly found):

Page 155 with the terminal “5” supplied in a larger type,

Page 283–84 with the corrected plate (the suppressed “obscene” plate not present, as usual).

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 22 x 17 x .5 cm. Green publisher’s hardcover binding. Gatherings of eight, but generally regarded as a quarto. Illustrated.

Pages – blank leaf/frontis is page 1 and 2, an inserted plate of Twain, title page is 3 to 366, [2]

Collation – twenty-three gatherings of eight


Unclear if blank last leaf present or replaced.

Condition -
See pictures. Binding with decoration faded, edge and corner wear, and evidence of repair at front joint and corners. Hinges repaired. Bookseller marks on pastedown and flyleaf; 1 cm tear at bottom of flyleaf. "W.F. Fisher" written on 1st blank leaf.

Some toning throughout, with fairly heavy thumbing, and occasional dog-earing, rust spots, page-edge tear, smudge, etc. Frontis and title page heavily toned.

Plate of Twain damaged along fore-edge, some creases and a tear from bottom repaired.

Repaired 2 cm tear at fore-edge throughout first gathering. 1” tear at bottom of gutter of 33/34. Some occasional page-edge tears repaired with Japanese tissue. Occasional moisture mark in bottom margin. Last printed leaf (365/366) mounted at gutter, and repaired along gutter, with some loss of text along gutter; also, fore and bottom-edges chipped.

The eighth (last) leaf of the 23rd gathering may be present as a blank endpaper, or it may be missing (unclear); a further new endpaper is present.