The Last of the Mohicans. John Miller, 1826

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851).
The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757.
London: John Miller, 1826. 3 Volumes.
Call Number: (RARE) PS 1408 .A1 1826b.
From the library of Samuel R. Block.
Special Collections, Golda Meir Library

Although Cooper's British publisher had been Coburn & Bentley, his literary agent arranged in 1822 to have the publishing rights to The Last of the Mohicans arranged with John Miller, "a very respectable & honorable man who deals much in American publications." Miller's reputation sold books, but he lacked the capital to buy later manuscripts, and Cooper returned to his original publisher.

The title page of this English imprint includes the inscription, "Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadowed livery of the burnished sun." Publishers worried that the work would have limited appeal to the European audience, and hoped to appeal to readers' romantic image of the American Indian.