HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel; Samuel T. Pickard (editor; preface; disclaimer); William Symmes (recovered by)

Hawthorne's First Diary: with an Account of its Discovery and Loss [Inscribed]

Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company / The Riverside Press, 1897. First Edition. Inscribed by Pickard on front endpaper: "Rev. Herbert Loubard with regards Samuel T. Pickard", dated July 25, 1904, and 3pp. A.L.s. from Pickard to Loubard and printed "Note to page 61" adhered to rear pastedown. Octavo (18.5cm); brown cloth-covered boards with titling stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; top-edge gilt; 6+4+115pp; black-and-white photographic (halftone) plate frontispiece, with three black-and-white photographic (halftone) plates. Modest shelf-wear with rubbing to corners, light soil to upper edge of textblock, tape residue and off-setting to recto of front endpaper and front flyleaf, and two tiny marginal tears to title page; Very Good.

A known forgery. This alleged diary was recovered forty years after Hawthorne’s death and given to an acquaintance from his youth, William Symmes, who released excerpts to a local paper. Pickard then edited the entries for this edition, in hopes the complete diary would eventually surface, but shortly thereafter included the disclaimer “Note on page 61” that stated Symmes portrayed his own experiences as Hawthorne’s. Pickard’s later confessions and handwritten book inscriptions suggest far more was fraudulent, and plates were destroyed for their lack of authenticity (Clark, G15). This copy includes an A.L.s. from Pickard with his confession on his doubts about the diary and his wishes to meet with Loubard. Pickard’s inscription and “Note to page 61” lend importance to this copy. BROWNE, A Bibliography of Nathaniel Hawthorne, p.103. CLARK, Pittsburgh Series in Bibliography, G15. BLANCK, Bibliography of American Literature, p.34. [89696].

Price: $200.00

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