Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne - photo 1
Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne - photo 2
Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne - photo 3

Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne

Lot 85
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 3 780
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967566
Lot 85 | Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne
Estimate value
$ 3 000 – 5 000
Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1846

HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Mosses from an old Manse. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1846.



A presentation copy of the first edition, first printing, in original cloth, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne to her father in the month of publication: "To my father from his affectionate daughter. S.A. Hawthorne. June 1846." Sophia Amelia Peabody and Nathaniel Hawthorne had been married in Boston at the Peabody Bookstore in July 1842, five years after they first met. They immediately rented and moved into the Old Manse in Concord, where Hawthorne would write most of the tales collected in Mosses. There they would also welcome their first child, Una, in 1844, and their second, Julian, in late May 1846—only a matter of weeks before the book was published and this copy inscribed.



Nathaniel Peabody (1774-1855), a dentist from Salem, Massachusetts, was considered meek and dominated by his wife Elizabeth Peabody. Never very successful, he was on occasion stubborn, bitter, and angry. His daughter Sophia would come to be critical (Patricia Dunlavy Valenti, Sophia Peabody Hawthorne: A Life, 2:94-95), but here she presented him with her husband’s just-published short story collection; there was clearly a filial devotion. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s own attitude toward his father-in-law was clarified by Sophia after her father’s death eight-and-a-half years later: “Mr. Hawthorne thinks father a very rare person & valued him more sincerely than any body else ever did. His sincerity, his childlike guilelessness, his good sense & rectitude—his singleness & unaffected piety—all & each of his qualities made him interesting & never tedious to my husband. I really do not believe anyone else ever listened to his stories & his conversation with love & interest excepting him.” Older sister Elizabeth did not dispute Hawthorne’s treatment of her father, only denying its uniqueness: “Mr. Hawthorne does all this, but I cannot agree he was the only person who did” (CE 17:302n). Sophia’s presentation attests to her fondness for her father, and perhaps, inasmuch as this was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s own work, it may intimate the writer’s approval of the gift and his sympathetic attitude towards Nathaniel Peabody himself. This copy is the first printing with the imprints for both Craighead and Smith on the copyright page. BAL 7598; Clark A.15.1a1.



Octavo (185 x 123mm). Half-titles. Original cloth (rubbed, chipping to spine ends). Provenance: Nathaniel Peabody, 1774-1885 (inscription from Sophia Hawthorne) – Henry Barrett Huntington, 1875-1965, professor of English (inscription to front endpaper dated April 1893).

Artist:Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864)
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
15.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

Mudie’s Natural History of Birds
Mudie’s Natural History of Birds
$100
True Stories from History and Biography, The Snow-Image, and A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
True Stories from History and Biography, The Snow-Image, and A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
$100
On Franklin Pierce and his new office as U.S. Consul
On Franklin Pierce and his new office as U.S. Consul
$1 000
Inchiquin, 1810
Inchiquin, 1810
$100
Thanking his friend for his financial support
Thanking his friend for his financial support
$5 000
Tanglewood Tales
Tanglewood Tales
$100
The Marble Faun, inscribed by Pierce
The Marble Faun, inscribed by Pierce
$2 000
The Celestial Railroad
The Celestial Railroad
$100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.