Alger, Horatio, Jr. (1832-1899). Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot-Blacks. Boston: Loring, 1868.

8vo. (Some minor spotting throughout.) Original green cloth (recased, hinges reinforced, rubbing to spine); slipcase. Provenance: John A. Watson (ownership signature on front free endpaper).

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Ragged Dick was inspired by the bootblacks of New York City, often boys between ten and sixteen years old who were known for gambling, smoking half-used cigars retrieved from gutters, and attending Bowery theaters. Alger's novel adapts a moralistic tone, which many readers of the period found to be aspirational. The plot and theme were repeated many times in Alger's subsequent novels and eventually became ripe for parody by later authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose novel The Great Gatsby is considered a dark retelling of Ragged Dick. Blanck, Peter Parley to Penrod 29; Gardner 103 (suggesting that no more than a dozen copies have survived); Grolier, American 75.

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Printed Books & Early American Photography, including Selections from the Larry Ness Collection

Alger, Horatio, Jr. (1832-1899). Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot-Blacks. Boston: Loring, 1868.

Printed Books & Early American Photography, including Selections from the Larry Ness Collection

Alger, Horatio, Jr. (1832-1899). Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the Boot-Blacks. Boston: Loring, 1868.

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