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Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals by Ednah D. Cheney (First Edition), 1891 📜✒️📚

Name: Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals by Ednah D. Cheney (First Edition), 1891 📜✒️📚
Brand: Wall Antiques
Price: 300.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$300.00

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1. Introduction 📜🔍🏛️

This is a first edition of Ednah D. Cheney's biography, Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals. Published in 1891 by Roberts Brothers, this book is the first authorized biography of Louisa May Alcott.

As a first printing, this volume is an artifact for collectors of classic American literature and Alcott's body of work.

The biography was compiled with access to Alcott's private papers, providing a factual account of her life and work. The volume stands as a record of a critical period of biographical writing in American letters, as it was published shortly after Alcott’s death. Its content and format make it a suitable item for a serious library.

2. About the Book 📖✍️✨

Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals is a comprehensive account of the celebrated author's life. The text, compiled by her close friend Ednah D. Cheney, combines biographical commentary with extensive excerpts from Alcott’s own journals and letters. This structure allows the reader to engage with Alcott's thoughts and experiences in her own voice.

The book is a primary source for any scholar or reader of Alcott's work. It documents the hardships, personal struggles, and intellectual life that she often kept private. The physical book itself, with its decorative covers and typeset text, represents the publishing standards of the era and provides a record of how an author’s legacy was presented to the public.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Ednah D. Cheney (1824-1904) was an American author, philanthropist, and a key figure in the transcendentalist and women's rights movements. She was a lifelong friend of Louisa May Alcott's and a member of the same intellectual circle that included Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

As Alcott's literary executor, Cheney was positioned to write this biography. She documented the complexities of Alcott's life, from her family's struggles to her personal aspirations. Her work provides a factual account of Alcott's life that goes beyond the idealized narratives of her children’s books. The book showcases Cheney’s dedication to documenting her friend’s legacy.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

Published in 1891, this book is an artifact of the post-Civil War era in America, a period of social and cultural change. The book’s publication reflects the public’s interest in the private life of an author whose works were widely read. It also comes at a time when biographical writing was becoming a more structured literary genre.

The volume is a record of late 19th-century American literary and social thought. It documents the intellectual discourse of a period when women were increasingly asserting their voices in public life. The book provides a factual look at a woman who lived a life of personal and intellectual freedom and serves as a record of the transitional period between the Victorian era and the early 20th century.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This book is intended for a curator of American literary history, a scholar of women’s studies, or a private collector of Alcott's works. It is an ideal acquisition for an individual who values a book as a foundational literary document. This is a fit for a collection that documents the personal journey behind an author's life.

A collector would appreciate the book's physical attributes and the intellectual history contained within its pages. The book is a piece for an individual building a library that documents the history of American letters and the evolution of biographical writing.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

As a first edition from 1891, this book is a scarce item. First editions of definitive biographies of major authors are sought after by collectors. The book was published shortly after Alcott's death and was not printed in large quantities. Its survival in a well-preserved state makes it a notable rarity on the market.

The price is a direct reflection of the book's rarity, its standing as a historical document, and its condition for an item that is 134 years old.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This volume is a survivor from the late 19th century, showing wear consistent with its age.

The original decorative cloth cover shows some rubbing and scuffing, particularly along the edges and on the spine.
The binding remains solid and tight, with no detached or loose pages.
The pages have some expected toning and light foxing throughout, a natural process for paper from this period.
The interior text block is clean and free from any major tears or stains.
There are no major marks or previous owner's scribbles.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

The biography was a source of some controversy when first published because it provided a factual look into the private life of a celebrated author shortly after her death.
The book was widely praised for its frankness and for correcting public misconceptions about Alcott's life.
Louisa May Alcott trusted Ednah D. Cheney to handle her literary legacy and provided her with access to her private papers for the book.
The book documents a friendship between two key figures in the Transcendentalist and women's rights movements.