Farmington. By Clarence Darrow. First Edition, First Printing. A.C. McClurg & Co. Chicago, 1904.

Clarence Darrow was an American lawyer who became a major figure in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries after many high-profile cases. He was the defense attorney for numerous labor leaders during the Progressive Era. He opposed the death penalty throughout his career. He utilized court proceedings to challenge dogmatic laws, most notably in the Scopes Monkey Trial. At the height of his career, Darrow was the most famous lawyer in the world. This volume, Farmington, provides an intriguing look into Darrow’s life and philosophies. It is an autobiographical novel about his boyhood–a departure from most of his other works, which were usually nonfiction. Darrow proves a spectacular talent for storytelling, however. He considered it his greatest literary work. Although not commercially successful in Darrow’s lifetime, literary critics hail Farmington as a classic of the era and an important volume from his professional career.

This first edition, first printing is in near-fine condition. In the original cloth, near-fine with gilt stamping and pictorial front board. Only faintest rubbing to bottom edge. Text block near-fine, only minor fading to gilt top edge gilt and former owner inscription to front free endpaper. 

A near-fine first edition of Farmington.