THE LONG ARM by Mary E. Wilkins AND OTHER DETECTIVE STORIES by George Ira Brett, Professor Brander Matthews, and Roy Tellet.
London: Chapman & Hall, Ld. 1895. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1] 2-249 [250-252: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], inserted frontispiece, original pictorial navy cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gray, light blue and gold, t.e.g., other edges untrimmed, light blue coated endpapers with Chapman & Hall monogram and floral designed printed in brown. First edition. Issued in paper wrappers and cloth (as here) as the first book of "Chapman's Story Series," which included "tales of action, incident, and adventure." Collects "The Long Arm" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, "The Murder at Jex Farm" by George Ira Brett, "The Secret of the Treaty" by Roy Tellet and "The Twinkling of an Eye" by Brander Matthews. "An important book -- the first legitimate detective-story anthology ever published. Never published in the U.S." - Queen, The Detective Short Story, p. 121. Freeman's story does not appear to have been reprinted in any of her story collections, at least during her lifetime. Glover and Greene, Victorian Detective Fiction, p. 119 (mis-dating the book 1894). BAL 6341. Topp, Victorian Yellowbacks & Paperbacks, 1849-1905, III, p. 459. A touch of rubbing to spine ends and corners, small bump to lower front edge near spine, covers and gilt stamping bright, a very good to near fine copy. An above average copy of a landmark book in the history of the modern detective short story. (13922). Item #13922
Price: $450.00