A Fine Collection of American Literature and History

A Very Early Newspaper Review of Henry David Thoreau's First Book

"A really new book--a fresh, original, thoughtful work--is sadly rare in this age of omniferous publication. Mr. Thoreau's, if not entirely this, is very near it...His reflections are always striking, often profoundly truthful, and his scholastic treasures, though a little too ostentatiously displayed, are such as the best instructed reader will enjoy and thank him for."

New-York: Greeley & McElrath, Saturday, June 16, 1849. Vol. VIII, No. 41, Whole No. 405. Folio. (8) pp. Printed newspaper in six columns; creasing from old folds, dampstaining in upper and lower leaves; scattered foxing.

A rare copy of Horace Greeley's New-York Weekly Tribune, printing on the first page a lengthy review of Henry David Thoreau's first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (see lot 52). In this early review, the unsigned reviewer (likely Greeley) declares that Thoreau's book is very near a "a fresh, original, thoughtful work."