A Bibliography of Henry David Thoreau

A Bibliography of Henry David Thoreau, compiled by Francis H. Allen and originally published in 1908, stands as a seminal reference work for scholars of American Transcendentalism. Allen, a lifelong editor at Houghton Mifflin, spent years meticulously cataloging Thoreau's published writings, magazine contributions, and the various editions of his work. This project emerged from the early 20th-century effort to cement Thoreau’s legacy as a foundational American literary figure, providing the academic community with its first comprehensive guide to his scattered body of work.

The bibliography is highly regarded for its precision and the scholarly rigor that defined Allen's long career in publishing. Designed as a definitive research tool, the text meticulously distinguishes between the primary editions of Thoreau’s life works and the subsequent posthumous collections. By documenting these details, Allen ensured that bibliographers and collectors alike had a reliable framework for understanding the textual history of Walden and other essential Thoreauvian texts, remaining a standard resource in literary studies for decades.