The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

London: Chapman and Hall,, 1870. In the publisher's primary cloth binding First edition in book form, scarce in the original cloth in such nice condition. This copy is in Smith's binding variant A, described by Kremers as "primary and earlier" (p. 243), with the sawtooth border to the front board and the rear board stamped in black rather than in blind. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was projected to be published in twelve monthly parts, but Dickens had only completed six parts when he died of a stroke. The finished parts of the novel were gathered and published in the present book form the month following his death, but Dickens had left no notes or instructions for how the novel was to be completed, and as a result "soon a whole Drood 'industry' (which still flourishes today) grew up, concerned with providing a plausible solution to the mystery" (ODNB). Octavo. Original green bead-grain cloth, spine lettered in gilt and decoratively stamped in black, sawtooth and double-line border to front board in black enclosing elaborate black dot-and-line work and gilt lettering, four-line border enclosing central shield device to rear board in black, yellow coated endpapers. Portrait frontispiece by J. H. Baker, vignette title page, and 12 plates after S. L. Fildes. Contemporary ownership inscription to front free endpaper. Spine ends gently bumped, extremities lightly rubbed, touch of wear to one tip, foxing to endpapers and occasionally to contents, else clean. A very good, attractive copy, cloth and gilt notably bright. Kremers pp. 242-3; Smith 16.