The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table • 2 Volumes • 1893 • Illustrated by Howard Pyle
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1893.
WHERE BOSTON WIT MEETS HOWARD PYLE IN A HANDSOME LATE 19TH-CENTURY SET.
A classic of American literary essays, first issued in serial form in The Atlantic Monthly (1857–1858), here presented in a finely produced late 19th-century illustrated edition. Holmes—physician, poet, and central figure of the Boston literary circle—blends wit, moral reflection, and conversational prose in a series of table-talk essays that helped define American intellectual culture in the mid-19th century.
This edition is distinguished by illustrations from Howard Pyle, one of the most influential American illustrators of the period, whose work adds visual character to Holmes’s urbane and reflective voice.
DETAILS:
+++ Two-volume set in decorated publisher’s cloth
+++ Top edge gilt
+++ Illustrated by Howard Pyle with tissue-guarded plates and in-text drawings
+++ 8 inches tall; 219 and 474 pages, indexed
CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
+++ Essays first published in The Atlantic Monthly, foundational to American periodical literature
+++ Conversational ‘table-talk’ format blending humor, philosophy, and social observation
+++ Strong example of 19th-century American intellectual and literary culture
+++ Illustrated by Howard Pyle, adding cross-collectibility in Golden Age illustration
CONDITION: Very Good. Bindings are tight and square. Text is clean; light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear with minor cloth spotting. Front free endpapers show rubbing. A solid and attractive set.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT —
Emerging from the vibrant literary culture of mid-19th-century Boston, Holmes’s essays reflect the intellectual exchange fostered by The Atlantic Monthly and its circle of contributors. By the 1890s, editions such as this—enhanced with illustrations by Howard Pyle—represent a shift toward more decorative and collectible book production, bridging literary significance with the growing appreciation for book arts and illustration.
Subjects: Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Atlantic Monthly, 19th-century American literature, Essays, American literature, literary nonfiction, Boston intellectual culture, Howard Pyle illustration, essay collections.
Item #21844
Price: $65.00
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