Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery, and Horror

First Edition, first printing published in 1928 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, London. An extremely scarce and important early anthology in which not only has Dorothy L Sayers curated an incredible group of influential and celebrated authors of the period but also a collection of genre defining short stories. Her introduction is of huge importance in its own right with an important piece written on Sherlock Holmes and the detective novel. With stories by Ernest , Oliver Onions, Le Fanu, Conan Doyle, Chesterton, Huxley, M R James, J D Beresford, Arthur Machen, E F and R H Benson, H G Wells and others. Book: Vg, Stocky book blocking at 1229pp, original black boards with brown titles, boards are very clean and deep in colour, spine entirely unfaded, titles fresh, square corners, small stain to lower corner of text block not effecting pages, gift inscription to ffep, otherwise the pages are clean and tightly bound. The wrapper: Vg. The impossibly scarce dustwrapper has undergone professional restoration. It was printed on very thin paper indeed and as such very few examples survive. The hinges and extremities of the front and verso have been strengthened and repaired, small loss to corners/hinges have been restored all using the finest archival papers and Japanese tissues. Artwork has been re-applied to the spine area. The wrapper now presents superbly. Marked out by all major reference works of the genre, Bleiler, Barron etc as being an extremely important early anthology.