[Rarebooks] FS: Book SIGNED by Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, and 106 others

[Charles Agvent]

 From our recent Catalog with 61 interesting books, letters, 
photographs, and ephemera: 
http://www.charlesagvent.com/agvent/images/pdfs/Winter2017.pdf

ROOSEVELT, Theodore (Teddy); TWAIN, MARK [Samuel Clemens]; et. al. LIBER 
SCRIPTORUM. THE FIRST BOOK OF THE AUTHORS CLUB. New York: The Authors 
Club, 1893. First Edition. Thick folio (10" x 13") in publisher's full 
dark brown morocco leather with ornately blind- and gilt-tooled spines 
and boards, top edge gilt, uncut. Copy #96 of only 251 copies SIGNED by 
each of the 109 contributors, all noted American authors of the time, 
the most prominent being Mark Twain ("The Californian's Tale," the first 
appearance in print of this story), Theodore Roosevelt ("A Shot at a 
Bull Elk,"), and Andrew Carnegie ("Genius Illustrated from Burns"). This 
book was created as a means to raise money for a permanent home for the 
Author's Club, organized in 1882. Each member contributed an original 
essay, story, or poem that was intended never to be published elsewhere 
(Twain's story was included in THE $30,000 BEQUEST in 1906). The book 
was printed by club member Theodore Low De Vinne on hand-made paper with 
wood-block engravings and fine typography. It sold for $100, more than 
$2000 in today's currency. Other contributors include William Dean 
Howells, Henry Van Dyke, John Hay, Percival Lowell, Charles Warner, F. 
Hopkinson Smith, Will Carleton, and Frank R. Stockton. BAL 3438. In his 
bibliography of Mark Twain, Merle Johnson notes that though "there are 
presumed to be 251 copies of the book; actually, over 30 of these were 
not bound but were sold as separate articles." Many copies have also 
been broken up over the years so that the autographs could be sold 
separately. Most intact copies now reside in institutions. Early 
bookplate dated 25 April 1894 presenting the book to The Library of the 
Bar Association of New York by Albert Mathews, Esq. Bar Association 
Library ink stamp on the title page with an ink number on the copyright 
page; two other apparently nonrelated small ink stamps on the rear 
endpaper and pastedown. Rebacked some time ago with nearly all of the 
original spine laid down and the hinges reinforced with tape. Some 
rubbing to the binding. Contents clean and in overall Very Good 
condition. (#018368)        $8,500.00

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