The Last of the Mohicans — A Narrative of 1757 [SOLD]

The Last of the Mohicans - A Narrative of 1757

By James Fenimore Cooper

Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth

Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1933

Hardback, color illustrations, 370 pages

Gift Inscription on frontispiece dated 1934

Very good condition

The Last of the Mohicans: A Cornerstone of American Literature

James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is widely regarded as the first "Great American Novel." Part of his celebrated Leatherstocking Tales, it is a work that fundamentally shaped the world's perception of the American frontier and the complex, often tragic, interactions between cultures.

Set in 1757 during the French and Indian War (the North American theater of the Seven Years' War), the novel vividly depicts the brutal conflict between the French and British empires for control of the continent.

Central to the story is the scout Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye) and his noble Mohican companions, Chingachgook and Uncas. The title itself carries a heavy, elegiac weight, symbolizing the displacement and disappearance of indigenous peoples as European powers expanded their reach into the American wilderness. 

Cooper was one of the first American authors to achieve international fame, creating an enduring mythology of the "frontier" that continues to influence literature and film today.

For the serious collector of rare books, the first edition, first issue of this title represents a pinnacle of American bibliophilia. It was published in 1826 by H.C. Carey & I. Lea in Philadelphia. True first editions were issued in two volumes, typically bound in original boards with paper labels. Because it was an immediate bestseller in its time, copies were often read to pieces, making high-condition, first-issue examples — identifiable by specific typographical points — notoriously difficult to find.

This book being illustrated today is the version published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, in 1933.