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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle

Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!

Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century

Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells

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Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson. London, Longmans, Green & Co.1886

First issue with “5” in 1885 ink changed from “6” by hand from the publisher. Also, an ad for the second edition of “A Child’s Garden of Verses” at rear. This wrapper bound issue precedes the cloth issue by about a week. “Like Shelley’s Frankenstein, this is an updating of the Faust theme which speculates on the dangers of science out of control…Stevenson’s theme of the human mind fragmenting into mutually exclusive, mutually destructive bits has been treated by countless later writers” – Lilly 21; Prideaux 17; Beinecke 349; Bleiler, Science Fiction (Early Years), pp.706-07; A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone.

[8], 141, [1 blank] + [1] ad pp. 18x11.5 cm. (7x4½”), original buff wrappers rebacked with early matching paper, front cover stamped in blue and red, glassine wrapper, custom maroon drop-back box. First English Edition, earliest binding state, first issue.