[THE HEATHEN CHINEE] Plain Language from Truthful James [TABLE MOUNTAIN, 1870].
San Francisco: John Henry Nash, 1924. Hardcover. Folio (12.5" X 17.25"). Quarter vellum with gilt spine lettering and tan/black batik over limp boards. (21pp). Tipped-in 5-page frontispiece booklet (bound at top edge), with all pages ruled in rust. Very good. Minor binding wear; slim discreet paper reinforcement to front/rear gutter. Item #52240
Quite nice and unusual first thus of Harte's famous satire about the anti-Chinese sentiment found in California when this was first published in September 1870 issue of the literary magazine "Overland Monthly" -- and sometimes to Harte's annoyance misread as racism on his part! Multi-page frontispiece consists of "a reproduction of the original Bret Harte manuscript ...." Title page further notes, "With an Introduction by / INA COOLBRITH / A fellow-worker with Bret Harte on the / Overland Monthly / Also a Note concerning the history of the manuscript by / J.C. ROWELL / of the University of California / Library / And a Bibliography with Notes by / ROBERT ERNEST COWAN / Librarian of the / William Andrews Clark, Jr. / Library." O'Day states that 255 copies were printed for private distribution. In 1934 Nash produced a second, slightly smaller edition in three volumes in a quantity of 500 copies, with 200 numbered copies reserved for the Book Club of California. O'Day notes the binding in "German batik boards. Orange paper label, lettered in black, on back." This copy bears no printed paper label on the verso, but unlike other copies bound solely in batik over paper this copy is quarter bound in vellum, with spine gilt reading " THE HEATHEN CHINEE -- BRET HARTE." -- which suggests this may be a variant binding. Just for fun and for the sake of completeness this interesting copy of a very scarce title is accompanied by the two ephemeral items that accompanied the 1934 Nash printing, both folio (11.5" X 14") in stiff burgundy wrappers with paper labels: 1.) Robert Ernest Cowan's "Bibliographical Notes on certain of the Earliest Editions," 8pp, which appears in the 1924 edition but here adds several more editions discovered since, and 2.) Nash's prospectus for the 1934 edition, with paper label in Chinese characters and bound in Chinese-stitch style, bearing Nash's introduction and description of this edition and with frontispiece and full-page illustration by Phil Little; printed order slip laid in. O'DAY 35-36.
Price: $500.00