Pierrot! A Story by Stacpoole, Henry de Vere - 1896

Original ivory-coloured pictorial cloth depicting a Pierrot clown selecting books in a library in red; red spine titles; red pictorial device to rear. Decorative endpapers; 163pp + 16pp rear catalogue (most of catalogue is uncut and unopened), all edges untrimmed. A scarce novel of the supernatural involving a blurring of sexual boundaries. John Lane obviously liked this book immensely because it launched his 'Pierrot Library' series which also included Stacpoole's other novel of weird decadent supernaturalism, 'Death, The Knight & The Lady'. The author was a gifted novelist and although his later works sold in significantly greater numbers, his two early novels are for me wonderful examples of beguiling 'fin-de-siecle' supernaturalism. This copy is somewhat ragged. There is light soiling and a few fox spots to the endpapers; the spine edges are a little frayed / split in places; the front hinge is cracked and is a little loose; the cloth is worn at the spine ends. That said, this is still an acceptable copy and doesn't require repair, just careful handling. A rare book, no others offered anywhere at the time of listing.