FISH YARNS AND OTHER SALT WATER TALES. Brooklyn, N.Y. Knowlson & Muller, [1904]. Octavo, pp. [3-10] 11-225 [226], [note: mis-foliated by the publisher; title leaf is a cancel], original blue cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black. First edition, later issue. First issued as STARBOARD LIGHTS (1901) by A. B. Hawser (a variant on the same pseudonym Muller used for the present volume). Nineteen short tales, almost all of them with a strongly nautical flavor related to the New York Bay and surrounding areas. Five of the stories have pronounced supernatural elements. "A Mystery of New York Bay" is a ghost story. "The Professor's Manuscript" presents an encounter with the Flying Dutchman. "The Little Yellow Man" is about a were-shark. "The Curse of the Seigneur" is another ghost story. "His Last Storm" suggests supernatural agency in the form of fatal retribution. The style of the writing is compact and vivid. Above average material that is well worth a look. Muller, a New York newspaper man, also wrote (under his own name) the imaginary war fantasy, THE INVASION OF AMERICA (1916). Not in Smith, American Fiction, 1901-1925. Cloth rubbed at spine ends, corner tips, and along outer joints, scratch to rear cover, a sound, good copy. A scarce book; the first issue is rare. (#117391).
Price: $250.00
No statement of printing on copyright page.