First Editions of Tom Sawyer and the Smyth Report at Hindman

Leading Hindman’s upcoming books and manuscripts sale is a first printing copy of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer from 1876. Twain’s famous tale of the mischievous and clever boy was initially a commercial failure. The American Publishing Co. sold fewer than 24,000 copies in the novel’s first year, a disappointing figure even for the period. The book went on to become an American classic. The available first printing copy of Tom Sawyer from the first American edition features a wood engraved frontispiece, illustrations by True Williams, and a blue morocco folding case. Bidders will also find volumes by F. Scott Fitzgerald, including Tales of the Jazz Age and The Crack-up. 

Many of the available lots are first additions, and some include rare autographs by their authors or other famous figures. One such book is Henry DeWolf Smyth’s Atomic Energy for Military Purposes, the chart-topping history of the Manhattan Project. Colloquially known as the Smyth Report, Atomic Energy educated the American public about the science behind nuclear weapons, as well as which pieces of information were declassified at the time. It required express approval by President Harry S. Truman before publication in August of 1945, days after the United States detonated nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The available first edition copy includes a signature from physicist and hydrogen bomb developer Edward Teller. To view other items from the collection of attorney and philanthropist Jack Charles Davis, visit Hindman’s website. N