THE HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES (1899 Edition), by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Published in Chicago by Donohue, Henneberry & Co., this un-dated late 19th-century decorative cloth edition features Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic 1851 Gothic romance. A manuscript ink presentation on the front flyleaf reads, "From Willie Helm, Wishing you a Merry Christmas, 1899," establishing its definitive provenance at the close of the Victorian era.

Originally written during Hawthorne’s most productive literary period in Lenox, Massachusetts, The House of the Seven Gables remains one of the defining masterpieces of American Romanticism. Dealing with themes of ancestral guilt, hereditary curses, and the decline of a once-prominent New England family, the novel drew deep inspiration from Hawthorne's own ancestral connection to the Salem Witch Trials. While high-grade first editions are centerpiece museum items, late 19th-century publisher reprints like this offer a compelling, authentic look at how classic American literature was packaged, gifted, and consumed by the general reading public at the turn of the century.

Complete in original publisher's illustrated cloth binding. Shows expected age-toning and fragility to the paper leaves, with light chipping along the page edges and wear to the spine extremities and a few internal imperfections related to the spine, otherwise intact and in overall fair to good condition for an un-restored Victorian trade edition. See photos for imperfections.