GABRIEL CONROY: a novel by HARTE, Bret - 1876

Toronto: Belford Brothers. 1876. First Canadian Edition. Hardcover. Original brown decorate cloth stamped in black and gilt, brown endpapers. pp (ix), (9)-423, Spine has vertical creases and is a bit worn at ends; cloth splits to front hinge reglued; inner hinges cracked but still firm; page edges browned, text paper lightly toned; 1885 ink name of Thomas Conant, Cedar Dale, Ontario, on half-title page; small bookseller ticket of Piddington Bookseller, Toronto. In all, only good externally, VG internally, clean, tight & unworn. BAL 7466. Both US and UK first published in 1876. This Canadian edition doesn't have the Dedication and illustrations found in the US edition, but not in the UK edition either. Thomas Conant was a Canadian author and book collector. Alfred Piddington (1829-1902), who came to Toronto from Warwickshire in 1858 and founded a large binding and bookselling business, including second hand books. He was an early supplier to the Toronto Public Library. "Bret Harte’s Gabriel Conroy, from a historical point of view, was, in fact, the first representative Californian novel." - Alan Silva. .