Soundings from the Atlantic

Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1864. FIRST EDITION. Title in red and black. Full green morocco, gilt spine and dentelles, with maroon glazed end-papers. An excellent copy from the library of Jonas Bikoff with his bookplate. First edition of this group of essays. Included are the first book appearance of Holmes’ three famous essays on photography: The stereoscope and the stereograph; Sun-painting and sun-sculpture; and Doings of the sunbeam. All of the remaining titles are collected here for the first time. The inevitable trial was separately printed in a work printed by Farwell & Co. in Boston, 1863, entitled Oration delivered before the City authorities of Boston on the fourth of July, 1863. The rest had appeared in The Atlantic Monthly between the years 1858 and 1864. Holmes was the inventor of the stereoscope and an avid early photographer. BAL, 8829; C&T, p. 123.