8vo. 1p. publisher's advertisement at front. (Front free endpaper and p. 7 corner clipped affecting page number, rear free endpaper with losses.) Original blue beveled cloth, with gilt frog at the lower left corner of the front cover, blind impression of the frog on rear cover, gilt-lettered on front cover and spine (spine sunned and ends worn, few minor stains to covers, fore-corners rubbed). Provenance: William S. Kimball (ownership signature dated 1868). Kimball, along with James C. Hart, founded the Kimball Tobacco Company in 1846. Kimball was known for his innovative advertising techniques, such as the use of collectible cigarette cards that feature various personalities including an image of Mark Twain in their 1889 series; Rhode & Haskins (bookseller's rubberstamp).

FIRST EDITION OF THE AUTHOR'S RARE FIRST BOOK, FIRST ISSUE, with the leaf of ads and unbroken type on pages 21, 66 and 198.
First edition of the author’s rare first book, first issue, with the leaf of ads and unbroken type on pages 21, 66 and 198.

Queen notes that Twain's first book is the "first important foreshadowing of crime-in-the-ascendancy in the short story... This acknowledged classic of legend and folklore is an early example of the confidence game in fiction. If this statement surprises you, reread Mark Twain's tale of trickery and ask yourself: When the slick stranger filled Jim Smiley's frog, Dan'l Webster, full of quail-shot, wasn't he really playing a clever skin game?" (Queen's Quorum 7). BAL 3310; Seven Gables First Books 58; Zamorano 80 17.