Dust jacket by Virgil Finlay

Limited Edition Hardcover - $3500.00

Arkham House; 286pp; limited to 1268 copies

Arkham House; Publisher, Sauk City, WI, 1939. Hardcover. First edition, first printing. The publisher's first book. 1268 copies printed. Includes typewritten letter on Arkham House letterhead from August Derleth, dated 8 November 1961; letter is signed by Derleth in purple ball point ink. The letter, written to Van Allen Bradley, a well known columnist and author whose forte was book collecting and book values, discusses the then current values of The Outsider, along with details of the edition, how the book was printed, etc.; the contents of the letter are shown below.

CONDITION

Book is solid and clean, with two corners lightly bumped; gilt lettering on spine is dull and/or discolored (greenish); pages are clean and fairly bright, with age-yellowed edges

Dust jacket front is clean, fairly bright, and unblemished except for a small chip in the upper right corner (see image above); flaps are clean and fairly bright with original price ($5.00) unclipped; rear shows minor toning and wear; spine is age yellowed and has large chips top and bottom (see image above); flap folds are yellowed and chipped; numerous tape mends to the reverse.

Overall, this is a very good, solid copy of the book with a good but problematic original dust jacket.

ENCLOSED LETTER

Dear Van Allen Bradley,

I'd like to know -- a propos your note to J.E. V. in a recent column, where I can get a copy of THE OUTSIDER & OTHERS, by H. P. Lovecraft, for $35.00. We've picked up copies for collectors over the past ten years and have never found one at less than $50; we know of one copy that sold at $100 -- pristine. But to the best of our knowledge, a copy of the book in any condition, takes $50. Actually, there was only one edition of 1268 copies -- no more. It was printed from type, not plates, as are all AH books. And, incidentally, all AH books are collectors' items; each one has increased in value as it has gone out of print -- and some of them have doubled in price at the dealers as soon as it was known that the books were going out of print. We had to print, for collectors on our 20th anniversary, a bibliography of AH books to date to spare ourselves the trouble of furnishing this information!

Best to you cordially,

(signature)