A signed book from Thoreau's library
 
A Greek and English Lexicon; adapted to the Authors Read in the Colleges and Schools of the United States, and to Other Greek Classics
John Pickering
Boston, 1829
 
Second edition. Remboitage in contemporary leather binding of the same book. Concord Library stamp to title page, fore-edge a bit chipped. Pages quite clean, Very Good.
 
HDT’s ownership signature and annotations in bold ink.
 
The signature is an early one, sometime around 22 years old. Thoreau studied Greek and the Classics at Harvard, graduating in 1837, and began translating Aeschylus in his journal circa 1839 - his translation of Prometheus Bound would appear in the third installment of The Dial in 1843. The young, developing Thoreau used this book heavily, as it contains lengthy annotations on 16 pages - his additions of Greek words with definitions. It's more than conceivable that he brought this to Walden Pond along with other books from his library.
 
This book was gifted in 1874 by his devoted sister, Sophia, to the Concord Library and later de-accessioned by the library in 1906 and purchased by the celebrated collector Stephen H. Wakeman. He was amongst the greatest collectors of all time in a golden era of collectors who continuously one-upped each other by gobbling up the choicest pieces. He was the premier Thoreau collector, amassing the largest, most comprehensive assortment of HDT items - even furniture made and used by Thoreau.
 
It's now over 200 years since the icon's birth, and his place in the literary firmament is fully established. Nice copies of HDT's books and even fragments of his manuscript leaves are often available, but items of this gravity are genuinely scarce. This is a crown jewel piece for any literature collection.
 
Ref: Thoreau's Library, Walter Harding
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[signed, literature, history]