THE SHIP OF ISHTAR.
New York, London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1926. Octavo, original red-brown cloth, front and spine panels stamped in yellow. First edition. Merritt's second book. Although Wentz notes "several printings" and G. Gordon Dewey in FANTASY ADVERTISER, December 1948 notes five "printings," there was but a single printing. "...Putnam had been unable to sell a pitifully small edition of a thousand copies of THE SHIP OF ISHTAR in book form and the sheets for the last three hundred copies were finally purchased by Munsey, and were bound and distributed to readers of ARGOSY-ALL- STORY MAGAZINE." – Sam Moskowitz, Explorers of the Infinite (Cleveland: World, 1963), p. 203. This book is found in numerous variant bindings, no priority established. "...the most fully realized of all his fantasies" – Cawthorn and Moorcock, Fantasy: The 100 Best Books 36. "The most romantic of Merritt's works. Very uneven as a novel. Sometimes fascinating, sometimes dull; pretentious, yet with a knowing wink of humor now and then; finely imagined, if not always executed." – Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1157. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 3-42. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 3-246. Bleiler (ed), Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror, pp. 838-39. Early copy with gift inscription in a neat hand dated 9 July 1926 on front free endpaper. A fine copy in nearly fine pictorial dust jacket with sunned spine panel and very light wear at head and tail of spine panel and corner tips. Overall, an attractive example of the jacket. (26067). Item #26067
Price: $1,750.00