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The Clansman By Thomas Dixon 1st edition 1905

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 200.00 USD
The Clansman By Thomas Dixon 1st edition 1905
Offered in this lot is a first edition of “The Clansman: An Historical Romance of The Ku Klux Klan” by Thomas Dixon. The Clansman, a novel recounting the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the so-called redemption of the South by the Ku Klux Klan, was written by North Carolina author Thomas Dixon Jr. (1864-1946) and published in 1905. The book, a sequel to Dixon's “The Leopard's Spots” (1903), was set in Washington, D.C., and the fictional town of Piedmont, S.C. Both volumes expressed the author's outrage at a dramatic presentation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's “Uncle Tom's Cabin”. With sales exceeding 1 million copies, Dixon adapted “The Clansman” for the stage. The play of the same title opened on September 27, 1905 and was an immediate hit; it toured the South, the Midwest, and ultimately the East. Governor Robert B. Glenn of North Carolina declared that the production would "correct the foul misrepresentation done this beloved section." Although panned by numerous critic, and even condemned by the governor of Alabama for stirring racial animosity, the play was a sellout everywhere it appeared. The novel was then turned into D. W. Griffith's silent film classic, “The Birth of a Nation” (1915), starring Lillian Gish. This book is bound in red cloth and shows minor wear and discoloration due to its age. The book measures 7 3/4" X 5 1/2" X 1 1/4".