First issue of the Gothic thriller, in the scarce original wrappers.
Very good.
Price: $6,000.00
"I was dreaming a fine bogey tale." – Stevenson to his wife Fanny, when she woke him from the nightmare that inspired JEKYLL AND HYDE
Following in the tradition of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN, this novella explores the philosophical consequences of scientific pursuit unrestrained by conscience. Originally priced at one shilling, it is bargain horror at its best, a penny dreadful that is "dam dreadful, " as Stevenson wrote in a letter during its composition. The work's popularity is based in part on its masterly balance of cheap thriller and conte philosophique – an equation that continues to influence creators: in an interview with Web of Stories, Stan Lee credited a combination of FRANKENSTEIN and JEKYLL AND HYDE as the inspiration behind the Incredible Hulk.
Read more: Mehew (editor), Selected Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson. Web of Stories: Stan Lee, "Creating The Hulk, Spider-Man and Daredevil."
London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1886. 7'' x 4.5''. Original wrappers printed in blue and red. Ads in red and blue on interior of both wrappers, one page of ads at rear. [8], 141, [1], [2] pages. Date hand-corrected from 1885 to 1886 on front wrapper. Likely contemporary ink ownership signature on front wrapper. Housed in custom gilt brown goatskin clamshell box. Spine largely perished (as common), browning to extremities to wrappers: interior bright.
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