THE SUICIDE CLUB [and THE RAJAH'S DIAMOND] by Stevenson, Robert Louis - 1896

1896. New York: George Munro's Sons, n.d. (March 13, 1896 at the top of the front wrapper). 18 pp ads, some dated June 1900. Original tan paper wrappers printed in black.

First American edition to consist solely of these two groups of mysterious detective tales, which had originally constituted the first volume of NEW ARABIAN NIGHTS (1882) -- in fact the running head on each page of text is that title. At that time, Henry Holt published an American edition of that title (including these two). It was not until 1894 that Chatto & Windus, in response to the popularity of the Sherlock Holmes cases, published just these two tales -- and this volume by Munro was in turn a response to that. ("The Suicide Club" is actually three loosely-connected detective cases -- "Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts," "Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk" and "The Adventure of the Hansom Cabs"; similarly, "The Rajah's Diamond" follows a valuable diamond through four separate (unpleasant) adventures, ultimately requiring the ingenuity of a detective.) Despite the March 1896 date at the top of the front wrapper, this copy was actually bound up a few years later, as some ads are dated June 1900. This is a remarkably close-to-fine copy (just a hint of wear at some corners) -- of a Stevenson title that is none-too-common. Beinecke 151.