The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne - photo 1
The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne - photo 2
The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne - photo 3

The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne

Lot 77
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 5 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967534
Lot 77 | The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne
Estimate value
$ 5 000 – 7 000
The Gentle Boy, inscribed by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1839

HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864) and Sophia Peabody HAWTHORNE (1809-1871), illustrator. The Gentle Boy: A Twice Told Tale. Boston: Weeks, Jordan & Co., 1839.



A presentation copy of the first edition, first state, inscribed by Sophia Peabody to her benefactor: "Miss Susan Burley with the very affectionate respect of Sophia Peabody February 1839." Burley had known the Peabody sisters in Salem since their childhood, buying one of Sophia’s illustrated baskets in 1833, and hosting Saturday evening gatherings in 1838 and 1839 to which the Peabody sisters—and sometimes Nathaniel Hawthorne—had come. The tale-writer himself referred to the weekly party as the “Hurley-Burley” (CE 15:316, 486), comically alluding to the opening of Macbeth.



“The Gentle Boy,” a moving tale of the Puritan persecution of the Quakers—inspired by William Sewel’s History of the Quakers and informed by Hawthorne’s own ancestor William Hathorne’s culpability—appeared in The Token in 1831 and, in revised form, in Twice-Told Tales in 1837. The latter version, now “A Thrice-Told Tale,” is complemented by the engraving of Sophia’s image of the Gentle Boy with the Puritan, the cost of which was borne by Susan Burley. The wealthy benefactor believed in the work, speaking in late 1838 of “Mr. Hawthorne’s highest merit—The highest merit of any writer—the unconscious but complete anatomy of the soul—as discoverable in The Gentle Boy” (Ronda, Letters of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, 221).



Hawthorne dedicated the booklet to Sophia (CE 9:52) and wrote in his preface, “Whatever of beauty and of pathos he had conceived, but could not shadow forth in language, had been caught and embodied in the few and simple lines of this sketch” (CE 15:568). But Sophia did not like the initial engraving by Joseph Andrews (CE 9:566-67), and the image was retouched. Susan Burley recognized Hawthorne’s gift early on, referring to his writing as a “golden web” (Julian Hawthorne, Nathaniel Hawthorne and His Wife, 1:167); her respect was such that she evidently thought that Hawthorne “ought to dress in velvet, & sit in a sumptuous chair & write & muse” (CE 16:5). He likewise valued her, wondering in 1840 if she might join Sophia and himself at Brook Farm (CE 15:505), and commenting to Sophia from Boston in 1841, “I met Miss Burley in the street, yesterday, and her face seemed actually to beam and radiate with kindness and goodness; insomuch that my own face involuntarily brightens, every time I think of her. I thought she looked really beautiful” (CE 15:524).



The Gentle Boy is a token of Nathaniel’s early affection for Sophia, his future wife, and this presentation copy offers an earnest expression of Sophia’s gratitude to the ever-supportive Susan Burley. With a duplicate illustration bound in, comprising Clark's first and third states. Clark's first state of the text includes the typo "faccs" at 18-1.9 (this was corrected to "faces" in the second state). BAL 7587; Clark 12.2a1.



Oblong quarto (250 x 310mm). Frontispiece by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne, present in two states (some spotting internally). Modern cloth binding, original wrappers bound in. Provenance: Susan Burley (presentation inscription) – Milton Academy Massachusetts (bookplate to front pastedown and library pocket and due date slip at rear).

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

Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne
Mosses from an old Manse, inscribed by Sophia Hawthorne
$3 000
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

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.
?>