PHILIP BENNION'S DEATH. New York: Street & Smith Corporation Publishers, n.d. [1928]. Large 16mo, original pictorial wrappers, side stapled. First U.S. edition. "The Adventure Library," number 104. A mystery novel first published in England (by Ward, Lock) in 1897 as THE MYSTERY OF PHILIP BENNION'S DEATH. Besides a good deal of weird atmosphere, the story also contains a small whiff of genuine magic that is, however, essential to the plot. With its notion of murder-as-a-fine-art, the novel summons up a fin-de-siécle mood of decadence that strays from the author's more usual Victorian manner. Hubin, p. 554. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Reginald (1979; 1992) or Day, Supplemental Checklist of Fantastic Literature. The bottom corner of the rear cover is folded and improperly trimmed (the paper is present but overhangs the margins of the book). Dust soiling to covers, negligible chipping to spine ends, a very good copy of an uncommon book. The pulpy paper is browned but quite supple and in no danger of chipping. (#145524).
Price: $100.00
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