L i t e r a t u r e 22 “…Man Is Not Truly One, But Truly Two”: First English Edition Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde 21. STEVENSON, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. London, 1886. Octavo, early 20th-century threequarter crimson morocco gilt; original wrappers bound in. $7500. Scarce first English edition of Stevenson’s “Faustian moral fable,” with fragile original wrappers bound in, beautifully bound in threequarter crimson morocco. “If [Bram Stoker’s] Dracula leaves one with the sensation of having been struck down by a massive, 400-page wall of horror, then Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is like the sudden, mortal jab of an ice pick” (Stephen King). “Published as a ‘shilling shocker,’ a form at that time in fashion, it became instantly popular” (DNB). “The date on the front cover was originally 1885, but the last figure was altered by pen into 6. It had been intended to publish the book in December 1885, ‘but when it was ready the bookstalls were already full of Christmas numbers, etc., and the trade would not look at it’… The publication was therefore postponed till January 1886” (Prideaux 17). With fragile original wrappers, rear leaf of advertisements (K8) often not present, text complete. The New York edition preceded the London by only four days. Beinecke 349. Gerstley 30A. Horror 100 Best, 60-62. Bookseller ticket. Text very fresh, title page with faint soiling, tiny bit of expert paper repair to gutter edge not affecting text. A splendid near-fine copy handsomely bound. “All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDg3OTM=