THE SIGN OF FOUR

First edition in book form, first printing. Publisher's original dark red cloth with black borders and gilt titles to the upper board and spine, Tissue guarded frontispiece illustration by Charles H. M. Kerr. Black coated endpapers. Publisher's 32 page catalogue dated October 1890 to the rear. A genuinely good or better copy, the binding firm with short tears and fraying to the cloth at the spine tips and some bumping to the corners. The cloth a little marked, the gilt generally bright. The contents, with a previous owner's bookplate to the front pastedown, and his pencilled review of the story, dated 4th December 1890 on the black front endpaper (visible in raking light), are entirely complete. There are a few finger marks, the odd foxing spot or corner crease and one page with some offset toning. Some cracking at the gutters of the later pages, the endpapers and inner hinges sound and holding. A decent example in entirely original condition, seldom encountered thus.

In the first issue binding with 'Spencer Blackett's Standard Library' in gilt at the base of the spine (the second issue binding is stamped with Griffith, Farran's imprint), and with all textual first state points including page number "138" misprinted "13" on the contents page, and "w shed" for "wished" on page 56. The second Sherlock Holmes novel was first published in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine under the title 'The Sign of the Four; or The Problem of the Sholtos'. This first edition in book form was published in October the same year. [Green and Gibson A7a].