1902 Scarce First DeLuxe Edition in color - The Last American by J. A. Mitchell
An exceptionally attractive 1902 De Luxe edition of J. A. Mitchell’s early work of speculative fiction and social satire, complete with all eight full-page colour plates and preserved in its striking richly decorated publisher’s cloth binding.
Author: John Ames Mitchell.
Title: The Last American: A Fragment from the Journal of Khan-Li, Prince of Dimph-Yoo-Chur and Admiral in the Persian Navy.
Publisher: New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, Publishers, 1902.
Edition: First De Luxe Edition illustrated in colour. The copyright page records the original copyright of 1889 by Frederick A. Stokes and Brother and the new copyright of 1902 by Frederick A. Stokes Company. The title page is expressly designated “Edition de Luxe.”
Language: Text in English.
Pages: 151 pages.
Size: Approximately 7.5 x 5.5 inches.
Binding: Near fine original publisher’s blue cloth binding, spectacularly decorated to the front board in gilt, white, red and ochre with an elaborate Persian-inspired design surrounding the gilt title and a central sailing vessel. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Only light rubbing and minor wear at the extremities, with slight darkening to the spine, but the elaborate decoration remains exceptionally bright and well preserved. Binding firm and highly attractive. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good to near fine. The pages are clean, bright and firmly bound, with only mild age toning and occasional minor spotting. An unusually fresh interior for this elaborate turn-of-the-century illustrated edition. Name of a previous owner on the first endpaper as shown.
Illustrations: Complete with eight full-page colour plates by F. W. Read, including the colour frontispiece, together with decorative designs by Albert D. Blashfield and numerous black-and-white illustrations and ornamental drawings by John Ames Mitchell throughout the text.
Estimate: USD $250–300.
The book: First published in 1889 and substantially enhanced for this sumptuous 1902 De Luxe edition, The Last American is a remarkably early work of speculative and post-apocalyptic fiction. Presented as the journal of Khan-Li, a Persian admiral travelling in the year 2951, the story follows an archaeological expedition across the Atlantic to explore the ruins of a long vanished civilization known as the “Mehrikans.” New York and Washington have become mysterious ancient sites, their monuments and customs interpreted by the visitors with a mixture of bewilderment and amusement.
Mitchell reverses the familiar nineteenth-century travel narrative to create a witty satire on American society, materialism, politics and cultural self-importance. The humour lies in seeing recognizable American landmarks through the eyes of distant future archaeologists who understand almost nothing of their original purpose. The elaborate Orientalist decoration and eight atmospheric colour plates make the 1902 De Luxe edition particularly desirable, transforming an unusual early science-fiction satire into a handsome illustrated gift book.
The author: John Ames Mitchell (1845–1918) was an American architect, artist, novelist and publisher. He is best remembered as the founder of Life magazine in 1883, which under his direction became an influential American humor and cultural publication decades before the later photographic magazine bearing the same name.
Mitchell wrote several novels and works of fantasy and satire, but The Last American remains among his most distinctive creations. Its device of imagining modern America as the ruined civilization of a remote future places it among the more inventive examples of late nineteenth-century speculative fiction and anticipates a form of archaeological and post-apocalyptic satire that would become increasingly familiar in twentieth-century literature.
The illustrators: Frederick William Read supplied the eight full-page colour illustrations for this De Luxe edition, giving Mitchell’s ruined future America an appropriately romantic and atmospheric appearance. Albert D. Blashfield created the elaborate decorative designs, while Mitchell himself contributed the numerous black-and-white illustrations and humorous details scattered throughout the text. Together, their work gives this 1902 edition a visual richness far beyond the earlier publication and makes it one of the most appealing forms in which The Last American appeared.