LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1883. First edition, first state, intermediate state B. Original three-quarter tan calf, raised bands, gilt compartments, marbled end papers and edges, gilt. Fine copy with only traces of rubbing at tips and some edges. Without the illustration of Twain's head in flames at p. 441, but reads "St. Louis Hotel" at p. 443. Twain considered this work to be his masterpiece. Chapter 31 contains the first use of fingerprints to solve a crime in fiction, described by Colin Wilson as "a remarkable anticipation of a scientific discovery that was then known to less than half a dozen men." Queen's Quorum, p. 45. BAL 3411. (Inventory #: 24067)