Q: I purchased a copy of The Scarlet Letter, by Hawthorne, while on vacation in Florida. The cover design caught my attention and I just had to have it. I cannot for the life of me, however, find a similar copy online anywhere.
I read your blog post regarding the “preface to the second edition,” and had assumed that this must have been a reprinting error/quirk, but I wanted to make sure since it doesn’t appear to be dated anywhere.
I’ve attached a photo of the cover and the title page. It looks like a Beauxart series print but that’s just a guess on my part. I was wondering if you could possibly give me any further info regarding the book, its printing date, etc.

A: Your book is part of the Beauxarts Series and was published in 1902. It originally came in a labeled box. See below for an example.

As you have realized, your book is a reprint of the second edition, not the second edition.

This book only has nominal value.