Late Nov for the Chatto edition. It was announced in Oct but copies didn't 
reach the public until maybe Nov 22, so says BAL with solid citations to 
various British journals. BAL 3415 says March for the NY edition, but copies 
have been found with Feb inscriptions. However, some finished copies were 
ready before Christmas --Twain gave Livy a copy in the publisher's sheep 
binding for Christmas, and I have vague recollection of a cloth copy 
inscribed by Webster about this date which he described as the "first copy." 
But the actual publication date was likely Feb.  See the MTP edition for 
details of printing progress, bindery dates, deliveries, etc.

Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB
*************************
You may browse our books at
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Martin D. Zehr" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: Illustration problem: true?


> I'm late to this discussion- so what else is new?- but I read one message 
> c=
> ontaining a reference to the lag time between the publication of the first 
> =
> British edition (October, 1884, if memory serves) and the first American 
> ed=
> ition of AHF (February, 1885).=A0 One reason for the delay was deliberate- 
> =
> an attempt to thwart the predilection of the British to publish pirate 
> edit=
> ions, for which Twain, of course, received no royalties.=A0 
> Pirated/bootleg=
> editions of Twain's earlier works were common in England and Canada, but, 
> =
> without an American edition to copy, initially, these readers would be 
> forc=
> ed to purchase the legit editions of AHF.=A0 As always, however, in this 
> re=
> sponse, you get what you pay for and there is the implicit boilerplate 
> cave=
> at of deferral to Kevin's observations regarding Twain's publication 
> histor=
> y. =A0 Issues of both of his FIRSTS articles are invaluable assets for the 
> =
> collector as well as the scholar.=0AMartin Zehr=0AKansas City=0A=0A=0A=0A=
> =0A________________________________=0A From: Arianne <[log in to unmask]>=
> =0ATo: [log in to unmask] =0ASent: Monday, July 22, 2013 12:32 AM=0ASubject: 
> =
> Re: Illustration problem: true?=0A =0A=0AThanks for your details.=A0 I 
> wasn=
> 't able to find your article on either of=0Athe links you gave.=A0 Not 
> qual=
> ified to join one, and got to your listing in=0Athe Bookseller one, but 
> cou=
> ldn't figure out how to get to your article.=0A=0ASigh.=0A=0ADo you think 
> i=
> llustration given in the article I sent was the original one=0Aor just 
> made=
> up to make a point?=0A=0AArianne Laidlaw=0A=0A=0AOn Sun, Jul 21, 2013 at 
> 7=
> :33 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:=0A=0A> 
> T=
> he basic outline of the story is true, but that writer garbles his facts.=
> =0A> Only the earliest prospectuses contained the ribald drawing, and 
> sales=
> =0A> agents were instructed to remove the page and mail it to the 
> publisher=
> or=0A> else their orders would not be honored. It was not an act of 
> reveng=
> e by=0A> Kemble for rejected drawings. No copies of the published book 
> have=
> the=0A> ribald state of the drawing and there is no evidence that any 
> ever=
> did.=0A> Copies were corrected before some sheets were collated and sewn 
> (=
> by=0A> replacing the entire gathering in which the illustration appeared), 
> =
> and=0A> others were corrected after some sets of sheets had been collated 
> a=
> nd sewn=0A> (by use of a cancel) but before any sheets were cased into 
> bind=
> ings. Some=0A> sets of sheets that were set aside very early for leather 
> bi=
> ndings before=0A> the illustration plate was altered by somebody in the 
> pri=
> nt shop using an=0A> awl actually have the first state of the plate before 
> =
> the alteration was=0A> made. All copies in the blue and green cloth 
> binding=
> s have the corrected=0A> state of the illustration. No copies of the book 
> h=
> ave the ribald state.=0A>=0A> It's a bit of an overstatement to claim it 
> ne=
> arly derailed the book. It=0A> generated some publicity and gave the 
> publis=
> her a chance to wax=0A> sanctimonious about correcting the 
> problem.=0A>=0A>=
> It's not a new discovery either. Twain's bibliographer Merle Johnson 
> wrote=
> =0A> about it in 1910, 1935, and 1939, and so did others, and it's 
> recorded=
> in=0A> the Bibliography of American Literature, volume II (1957).=0A>=0A> 
> =
> I wrote about it at length, correcting errors of fact and speculative=0A> 
> n=
> onsense, in a 1998 article in Firsts Magazine whose text you can access 
> at=
> =0A> abaa.org or through my articles at academia.edu.=0A>=0A> Kevin=0A> @=
> =0A> Mac Donnell Rare Books=0A> 9307 Glenlake Drive=0A> Austin TX 
> 78730=0A>=
> 512-345-4139=0A> Member: ABAA, ILAB=0A> *************************=0A> You 
> =
> may browse our books at=0A> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com=0A>=0A> -----  
> Origi=
> nal Message -----=0A> From: "Arianne" <[log in to unmask]>=0A> To: 
> <TWAIN-L=
> @YORKU.CA>=0A> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 6:54 PM=0A> Subject: 
> Illustratio=
> n problem: true?=0A>=0A>=0A> >I hadn't heard this before, so don't know if 
> =
> it is true or not.=0A> >=0A> >=0A> 
> http://mentalfloss.com/article/31107/cru=
> dely-drawn-penis-almost-derailed-huckleberry-finn=0A> >=0A> > --=0A> > 
> Aria=
> nne Laidlaw=0A> >=0A> >=0A> >=0A> > -----=0A> > No virus found in this 
> mess=
> age.=0A> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com=0A> > Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus 
> =
> Database: 3204/6508 - Release Date: 07/21/13=0A> 
>  >=0A>=0A>=0A>=0A> -----=0A=
>> No virus found in this message.=0A> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com=0A> 
>> Vers=
> ion: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3204/6508 - Release Date: 07/21/13=0A>=
> =0A=0A=0A=0A-- =0AArianne Laidlaw A '58
>
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3204/6510 - Release Date: 07/22/13
> 



-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3204/6510 - Release Date: 07/22/13