Primary sourceLetter1899

Unpublished Letters of Henry D. and Sophia E. Thoreau

Samuel Arthur Jones (editor); Henry David Thoreau; Sophia E. Thoreau · 1899

A 1899 edition of previously unpublished letters by Thoreau and his sister Sophia, edited by Samuel Arthur Jones.

This 1899 edition preserves Thoreau's own private letters alongside those of his sister Sophia.

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Front cover of a gray-blue library binding with a black spine edge. A white label at top left reads PS 3053 A3 1899. A second white label reads UC-NRLF with a barcode and the number $B 799 816. A brown stain appears at the upper right. — Unpublished Letters of Henry D. and Sophia E. Thoreau, ed. Samuel Arthur Jones, 1899. Library copy no. 110.

About this source

What it is

This is a library copy (no. 110, signed by the editor Samuel Arthur Jones) of a 1899 book collecting letters written by Henry David Thoreau and his sister Sophia E. Thoreau. The photograph shows the book's library binding rather than the letters themselves.

Why it matters

Published decades after Thoreau's death, this collection gathers correspondence that reveals private sides of Thoreau and his family not found in his published essays. It shows how later editors worked to preserve and share Thoreau's personal writings and relationships, especially with his sister.

Look closer

Why might an editor choose to publish 'unpublished' letters many years after someone's death?
What might letters between siblings reveal that formal essays do not?
What clues on the book's cover tell you this is a library copy, not the original letters?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Henry David Thoreau on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.