ISLAND NICHTS' [sic, ie. NIGHTS'] ENTERTAINMENTS

Tokyo: Kairyu-Do Press, 1929. [4], 152, [1] pages. Original boards with coated dark blue paper on spine and patterned gray paper on covers; gilt spine lettering and blue cover lettering. 19 x 13 cm. A very good copy in poor dust jacket. Spine ends a little rubbed, faint stains to covers. The jacket is chipped with the loss of most of the spine panel, a penny size portion of the front panel, and the top 2 cm of the rear panel. The header on the rear panel is affected, however, the publisher's priced list of books is intact. The extant portion of the spine panel is repaired on the verso. Apparent FIRST OF THIS EDITION. An early publication of the Kairyu-Do Press (sometimes styled Kairyudo), which began operating circa 1924. Previous offerings of the press included Stevenson's Kidnapped in both English and Japanese; works by Hawthorne, Hardy, and Irving; and several titles by Lafcadio Hearn. The editor, Kentaro Omiya, was a professor at Nihon University who studied comparative languages. This appears to be the second Japanese edition of Island Nights’ Entertainments in English. The only preceding edition found by OCLC and NUC was published in 1925 in Tokyo by Sanseido. Scarce with the dust jacket in any condition. OCLC locates only two copies (National Taiwan University and the National Diet Library, Japan); not in NUC. �