Anne of Green Gables

Boston: L.C. Page, and Company, 1908 With eight sepia-toned illustrations by May Austin Claus and William Anton Joseph Claus, including a frontispiece with original tissue guard. First edition, first printing, with "First Impression, April, 1908" statement to copyright page and eight pages of ads to rear. Publisher's dark brown cloth, with gilt lettering to the front board and spine, and illustration of a woman's profile pasted to front board; lacking the scarce original dust jacket. Near fine, with some rubbing and a few very light marks to front board illustration, a touch of dimming to gilt on front board, bottom edge and corner of front board slightly bumped, contemporary ownership inscriptions to front free endpaper and rear pastedown, tiny nick (possible insect damage) to fore edge of pp. 209 - 246, and light spotting to a few pages. Overall, an extremely attractive copy of the first book in L. M. Montgomery's beloved Avonlea series. Housed in a custom brown and tan half morocco clamshell box. Anne of Green Gables is a story about a young orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who is sent to live on a farm on Prince Edward Island with a family who had originally intended to adopt a boy. Montgomery drew much of the novel's setting from her own childhood experiences living with her grandparents on the eastern coast of the island. Mark Twain gave the novel important early praise, hailing Anne Shirley as "the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice." Montgomery went on to write seven sequels to Anne of Green Gables, the first being Anne of Avonlea (1909). . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine. Illus. by Claus, M.A. (May Austin); Claus, William A.J. (William Anton Joseph).