“EXACTLY, MY DEAR WATSON”: FIRST EDITION OF THE VALLEY OF FEAR

CONAN DOYLE, Arthur. The Valley of Fear. London: Smith, Elder, 1915. Octavo, original red cloth. $3200.

Preferred first English edition of this later Sherlock Holmes novel, with frontispiece illustration by Frank Wiles.

The Valley of Fear, a portion of which is set in Pennsylvania's coal mining towns, "was originally written in the third person and then altered to a first-person narrative" (Green & Gibson, 176). This preferred first English edition was published in June of 1915, following the American first edition, which was published in February of the same year. With six pages of advertisements at rear. Without very scarce dust jacket. Green & Gibson A39a. De Waal 503.

Infrequent scattered marginal foxing, mild dampstaining to bottom edge of rear endpapers only. Cloth with a bit of dampstaining, gilt bright. A near-fine copy of book that because of its World-War I publication is difficult to find in nice condition.