Very scarce in this condition

Twain, Mark & Vaughan, Keith (Illus.) ~ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

First UK Printing : Paul Elek, London : 1947

The First UK Printing published by Paul Elek, London in 1947. Large 8vo., red cloth ruled and lettered in gilt to spine; publisher’s unclipped orange wrapper (12/6 net); featuring numerous full-page, in-text, tailpieces and chapter head B/W drawings by Keith Vaughan; The BOOK a near Fine copy, slightly toned at the page margins due to the quality of the cheap paper stock used ; Mildly pushed to the spine ends; Free from inscriptions. The Very Good++ WRAPPER slightly rubbed along folds and spine; light rubbing, nicking to the ends of folds and head/foot of spine; a very slight loss to foot of spine. Small tape remnants to the wrapper edges to the verso. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition in the illustrated Camden Classics Series, with an introduction by Graham Hutton. A wonderful copy of this classic adventure, based on the story of a boy growing up along the Mississippi river. The text is beautifully accompanied by evocative drawings in line by the artist Keith Vaughan. Known today for his paintings, mostly in oil and watercolour, Vaughan was self-taught as an artist, and his first exhibitions were held during the Second World War, when he formed friendships with the painters Graham Sutherland and John Minton. As Hutton writes in his introduction, Tom Sawyer is: “a remarkably timeless book… it fulfils the requirements of the very best fiction: that it should be true to life, that it should have romance or high adventure, that it should breathe a timeless human nature from its pages, and that the tale should not be marred in the telling - that it should have style. All of these Tom Sawyer has, and more.” A striking example and scarce to find in such collectible condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Very Good++