The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (in fine binding) by Robert Louis Stevenson - 1888

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1888. Leather_bound. Fine. 12mo. in alternating green and black full morocco with spine lettered in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Title page printed in red and black. 138 pp. Fine, fresh example. Early American edition of Stevenson's immortal horror classic of a respected London doctor whose experiments (on himself) concerning the dual nature of the human personality lead to tragic consequences. Originally issued in 1886 as a "penny dreadful" in wrappers (one shilling in the U.K. and 1 penny in the U.S.) it became an immediate international bestseller, was published both in paper wrappers and hardcovers, and sold some 40,000 copies in six months. A thetrical version was staged in Boston in 1887 with actor Richard Mansfield in the title role(s); his used of lighting and makeup for the transformation of Jekyll into Hyde was so effective that audiences were often stunned, terrified or both, and the play was later staged in London. It was, however, forced to shut down after 10 weeks as the Jack The Ripper murders made even those who only played murderers on the stage were made suspect. In the 20th century, the book was the basis for many adaptations with the Jekyll/Hyde role notably played by such Hollywood luminaries as Fredreick March and Spencer Tracy. Stevenson's book has had such a lasting fame that the term "Jekyll and Hyde" is part of the lexicon.