THE LADY, OR THE TIGER? AND OTHER STORIES. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884. Octavo, pp. [1-4] [i-iv] v [vi] 1-201 [202: blank] [203-210: ads] [211-214: blank] [note: first two and last two leaves are blanks and first and last are excised], publisher's two-part pictorial gray and brown cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black and gold, rear panel stamped in black, gray floral patterned endpapers. First edition. 1500 copies printed. Mixed collection of short fiction including two ghostly tales as well as the famous title story. Stockton "was a gifted short-story writer and caused a sensation by his story "The Lady or the Tiger?" It appeared in the CENTURY in November 1882 and formed the title of a volume of collected stories in 1884. Stockton ingeniously set the problem of a barbaric princess under parental influence, torn between relinquishing her lover to a marriageable lady or a savage tiger. The story stirred up debates throughout the country and brought Stockton an unwelcome amount of publicity." - Kunitz and Haycraft, p. 715. A Merle Johnson high spot. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1537. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 999. Bleiler (1978), p. 187. BAL 18880. Wright (III) 5242. Authors Club Library bookplate affixed to the front paste-down. Cloth rubbed at spine ends and corners, light black stain on front cover, a very copy. (#174329).
Price: $350.00
No statement of printing.