?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600
Alcott, Louisa May (1832-1888) Little Women, or, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.
Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1870.
[Together with] Little Women, Part Second, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1870; two 16mo volumes; volume one illustrated with four wood engravings after May Alcott; with note advertising the second part present on page 341, without "Part First" on spine, Little Women both parts listed in the ten pages of advertisements after the text, available priced at $3.00; volume two illustrated by Hammatt Billings with note concerning the publication of part one present on page iv, "Stereotyped by Regan and Leadbeater, 55 Water Street, Boston" printed on verso of title page, eight pages of publisher's ads; with "Part Second" on the spine; both volumes bound in publisher's terra cotta cloth, very tattered, with losses, sewing breaking apart, a well-loved set, originally presented to Agnes M. Willson as a New Year's gift from her father in 1871, with gift inscriptions in both volumes; possibly Agnes Margaret Willson, born in New York circa 1860, who married George E. Stoddard in Walpole, Massachusetts in April of 1899; 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.
Used and tattered copies of Alcott's work with contemporary inscriptions remind us of the instant popularity and enduring qualities of the tale. This small book about the struggles of mid-19th century American women has worked its way into the culture in a very personal way. Writing was survival for Alcott. Being paid to publish, especially when she was able to retain the copyright, provided her with an ongoing stream of income for herself and her family.
