ALLISTO: A ROMANCE. New York: John D. Williams, [1884]. Octavo, pp. [1-5] 6-327 [328: blank], flyleaves at front and rear, original mustard cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, rear panel ruled in blind, brown coated endpapers. First edition. An occult romance novel set largely in the 1850s through the 1870s in and around St. Paul, Minnesota. Allena marries Allisto, a homo superior of powerful intellect with paranormal powers (including mind reading and telepathy) who has not been able to discover his origin or "identify myself with any branch of the human family." Allisto shares his visions with Allena during an experiment which kills Allisto and leaves Allena near death in a hypnotic trance . "Allisto's History," pp. 248-78, includes telepathic communication with the "powerful Ulterre Race," a civilization of superior beings on another planet. The sequence is marginally utopian. "John Emersie" is the pseudonym of Mrs. Ansel (Josie Greve) Oppenheim. The book was reprinted under the Oppenheim by-line as EVELYN: A STORY OF THE WEST AND FAR EAST by the Broadway Publishing Company in 1904. This is a presentation copy which identifies the author on the title page and has a presentation inscription on the front flyleaf: "To Mrs. Churchill With Compliments / of the Author / Mrs. Ansel Oppenheim." Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy Volume II, p. 87 (describing the 1904 edition). Locke, Voyages in Space (2011) V 252. Reginald 04887. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978). Wright (III) 1767. Spine ends and corner tips worn, cloth soiled, insect tracking on front cover, else a very good copy. (#165335).
Price: $150.00
No statement of printing on copyright page.