GRAPHICS.
St. Louis: William Marion Reedy, 1913. Octavo, [1-8] [1-2] 3-319 [320: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank] cloth. First edition. Lyon's second collection of short fiction and his last book. Lyon's untimely death at age 33 cut short a promising literary career. His fiction was of high caliber and has been favorably compared with that of Stephen Crane and Ambrose Bierce. "The 31 tales and sketches in [Sardonics and Graphics] can be properly compared with the work of Crane and Bierce for vivid, highly characterized and purposeful narrative. 'The Second Motive' in Sardonics and 'Revenge' in Graphics are psychological murder tragedies at the two extremes of the social scale. Lyon, like Crane and Norris, died before his talents had fully matured and, unfortunately, when his work had only begun to appear in McClure's Magazine and to attract special attention." – Bennett, A Practical Guide to American Book Collecting, p. 204. Lyon's two books were published in small editions and both are now uncommon. [Reference: Listed in Hubin, Crime Fiction II: A Comprehensive Bibliography 1749-1990]. A very good copy, previous owners bookplate to front paste-down, cut edges dust soiled mild bump to lower edge, some general light rubbing, small tear to cloth at upper right rear corner. (9070). Item #9070
Price: $125.00