A very fine first Continental edition of the bibliographic matchstick that ignited the Civil War and led to the abolition of slavery in America.

Additionally, for the Continental edition, Harriet Beecher Stowe penned a brand-new preface never before published, defending her work against claims of exaggeration, describes the unique relationship of America to slavery, explains the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, etc., The present is the first appearance in print in any country of this critical defense and contextualization of her novel.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. With a New Preface Expressly Written for this Edition, Authorized for the Continent of Europe. In Two Volumes [Bound as One]. Leipzig. Bernhard Tauchnitz Jun. 1852. First Edition. First Printing. x + 352 + 317pp.

Very good condition in original cloth with black-letter gold titling to front cover. The ffep contains an 1852 inscription in German, perhaps worthy of exploration. Aside from the minor foxing on the prelims, the whole exceptionally crisp and clean. An exemplary volume.