SIGNED BY W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM

MAUGHAM, W. Somerset. Cosmopolitans. London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1936. Octavo, original red cloth, black cloth label, top edge gilt, uncut, original slipcase. $500.

Signed limited edition of this collection of Maugham short stories, originally written between 1924 and 1929 and published in Cosmopolitan magazine, number 47 of only 175 signed copies.

"Ray Long conceived the notion that the readers of the Cosmopolitan would like it if they were given at least one story that they could read without having to hunt for the continuation among the advertisements, and he commissioned me to write half a dozen sketches of the same sort as those in On a Chinese Screen. They were to be short enough to print on opposite pages of the magazine and leave plenty of room for illustration. The sketches I wrote pleased and the commission was renewed. I went on writing them till my natural verbosity got the better of me and I found myself no longer able to keep my stories within the limits imposed upon me. Then I had to stop" (Preface).

A touch of light edge-wear to slipcase, cloth spine gently toned. An about-fine signed copy.