THE LAST GALLEY. Impressions and Tales.
With Illustrations. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1911. 14 pp undated ads. Original deep red cloth with cover vignette in gilt.
First Edition of this collection of eighteen tales, including several of a science fiction vein. The color frontispiece (for "The Coming of the Huns") is by N.C. Wyeth -- a portion of which also serves as front cover vignette; the one other illustration (showing the beast that is "The Terror of Blue John Gap") is a scary one by Harry Rountree.
This is a remarkably bright copy, without external soil or wear -- FINE except that the upper-right corner of the title page has been archivally treated (undoubtedly to remove a signature); there is scarcely any of the foxing that typically afflicts this thick wove paper. As with the other similarly-bound Doyle volumes published by Smith Elder, this is a tough first edition to find in decent shape. Green & Gibson A35a. Housed in a handsome morocco-backed slipcase with inner chemise. Provenance: Bela Saint George engraved 1923 bookplate of New York dentist and major Doyle collector James Foster Hasbrouck. Item #15347
Price: $495.00