4to, number 392 of 600 copies signed by the artist, 16 tipped-in colour plates with captioned tissue-guards, 8 full-page colour illustrations and other illustrations by Arthur Rackham, cream buckram with original pictorial stamp in gilt, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, preserved in a slipcase, minor spotting, hinges slightly starting, three small stains on upper board

Riall p. 146

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In April 1846 Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to his friend the publisher Evert Augustus Duyckinck and expressed his interest in re-telling the classical myths. He writes, "I have had in my head, this long time, the idea of some stories to be taken out of the cold moonshine of classical mythology, and modernized or perhaps gothicized, so that they may be felt by children of these days." The result is A Wonder Book, where Hawthorne blurs fantasy and reality by placing the myths of Ancient Greece in contemporary New England, and in turn invigorating the tradition of the American fairy tale.