THE MYSTERY OF A STUDIO: AND OTHER STORIES. London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1892. Octavo, pp. [1-5] 6-252, publisher's pictorial gray cloth, front panel stamped in black, spine panel stamped in gold. First British edition. Published earlier in the U.S. by Appleton in 1891 as THE JOHNSTOWN STAGE AND OTHER STORIES. Nine stories, some with Western settings. At least two ("The Old Spanish Bedstead" and "The Mystery of a Studio") have borderline supernatural content. The latter is set in the bohemian world of artists in Rome. A cheerful young German student/artist becomes gloomy and obsessed with his painting of the assassination of a Renaissance scoundrel. Then the assassination takes place in fact, and he is charged with murdering his model. The resolution is a bit of a letdown but the story creates an effective atmosphere of antiquarian weirdness. Wright (III) 1927. Not in Bleiler (1948; 1978) or Reginald (1979; 1992). Cloth worn at edges, cloth soiled and quite dusty, spine panel darkened, spine lettering dull, hairline crack along inner front hinge, a reading copy. (#171414).
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