LOT #45207 |
Sold on Dec 11, 2024 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
H. P. Lovecraft. The Shunned House....
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Dec 11, 2024 for:
$1,375.00
Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
H. P. Lovecraft. The Shunned House. Athol, Mass.: W. Paul Cook, The Recluse Press, 1928 [but likely England, circa 1965].8vo. Modern quarter morocco, gilt-lettered on spine, uncut.
1965 forgery of the first edition of the author's very rare first book. The story was meant to be published in The Recluse, a journal published by W. Paul Cook. The Shunned House was ultimately not included in the journal (of which only one issue was ever published); Cook instead printed 300 sets of sheets of the story to be issued as a small book, though these sheets were never bound and the story technically never published. A convoluted and complicated printing history then followed the 300 sheets from W. Paul Cook to Lovecraft's literary executor, R. H. Barlow, in 1934 to the publishing firm Arkham House in 1959 and 1961.
Preying on the complicated printing history of the text, a forgery was issued in or around 1965. Joshi describes it thus: "The Forgery. Around 1965 a forgery was issued (perhaps in England), consisting of an offset of the text bound in red half leather, spine stamped in gold. Watermark on the paper reads "Chantry," and the Arkham House copyright label is pasted on the copyright page, not over Cook's original copyright, but over a blank area." The present copy conforms to the forgery points regarding the binding, watermark, and Arkham House copyright label.
Condition: Binding with a few rub marks to cloth, front hinge starting, otherwise fine.
References: Joshi I-A-5.
*Note: This description has been amended, and the references used have been updated. The present copy is the 1965 forgery as described by Joshi.
Provenance: Purchased from The Times Bookshop, London. From the William A. Strutz Library.
View all of [The William A. Strutz Library ]
Auction Info
2024 December 11 Important English and American Literature: The William A. Strutz Library, Part II, Rare Books Signature® Auction #6300 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2024
11th
Wednesday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 392
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $1,000,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $5,000,000 per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms