THREE PROBLEMS FOR SOLAR PONS by Derleth, August - 1952

mycroft & moran, first edition ,, . very good, all 4 corners price clipped jacket only, NO BOOK

mycroft & moran, 1952, first edition ,, . very good, - fine, spine fold rubbing, bumping jacket only, NO BOOK

Sauk City: Mycroft & Moran, 1952. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo; black cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; dustjacket; 112, [2]pp. Previous owners inscription to front pastedown, touch of offsetting from binders glue to pastedowns, with faint thumb-smear to lower rear cover; Very Good+ or better, in the original dustjacket, unclilpped (priced $2.50), lightly rubbed at spine ends else Near Fine. An uncommon volume of Derleth's Solar Pons pastiches. Colophon states the printing to be 2000 copies, though Derleth and other sources claim a number between 990-1000 copies.

Sauk City, WI: Mycroft & Moran, 1952. First edition. Near fine in very good plus jacket.. First printing of these three collected adventures of the sub-Sherlockian detective Solar Pons. This third Pontine collection, issued by an imprint of Derleth's own Arkham House, was prematurely advertised as "quite possibly the last Solar Pons pastiches I shall write;" happily for his readers, the detective persisted for another twenty years and more. This volume's stories include: The Adventure of the Rydberg Numbers, The Adventure of the Remarkable Worm, and The Adventure of the Camberwell Beauty. 7.5'' x 5''. Original black cloth with gilt-lettered spine. In original unclipped ($2.50) dust jacket by Ronald Clyne. 112 pages. Colophon states edition of 2000 copies, but actually one of 996 (see Jaffery). Though no provenance markings, this copy from the library of the noted actor and Sherlockian Curtis Armstrong. Jacket sunned at spine with moderate toning and edgewear. Offsetting to endpapers.

The third collection of Solar Pons stories, and the shortest (unless you count those that only have one story). Also the scarcest Mycroft and Moran book Derleth published, with just over half the printrun of any other The cornerstone item for an M&M collection: the colophon states 2000 copies, but all records indicate that 996 is a much more accurate number. Derleth expected to stop writing Pons stories with this volume: sadly, the better Holmes pastiches he thought were coming proved to be less than wonderful. DW is slightly rubbed on spine edges, unclipped, in a new mylar jacket protector; gold printing on spine is dull rather than bright, as seems standard for this volume. Very slight gutter toning from endpaper glue in back. A copy for all but the most finicky collector. More photos upon request.

Sauk City, WI: Mycroft & Moran, 1952. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 12mo., 281pp. Gorgeous First Printing of one of the rarer M&M/Arkham titles. Square tight and clean throughout with little or no wear. Remarkably well preserved. Sharp unclipped dust- jacket, ($2.50), has some mild toning to edges. Fresh and with no creases, chipping or tears. The 3rd of Derleth's collection of stories paying homage to Sherlock Holmes after "In Re: Sherlock Holmes" and "The Memoirs of Solar Pons". Though the colophon states that 2000 copies were printed, the number was almost certainly 996, (Thirty Years of Arkham House, Derleth, 1970 pg.81), making it one of the most uncommon Arkham titles and certainly the toughest Solar Pons title. A beautiful, collectable copy and scarce in such high-grade condition. (Hubin, p.115).

Sauk City: Mycroft & Moran, 1952. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's black cloth with spine titles lettered in gilt. Near Fine, with trace wear to cloth along bottom edges, pages lightly toned. In a Near Fine un-clipped dust jacket, with rubbing at the extremities, and a small faint stain to the bottom corner of the rear panel.

Sauk City, WI: Mycroft & Moran: Publishers, 1952. First edition. Light foxing to upper page edges, a fine copy in a fine dust jacket with mild rubbing to head of spine panel and a touch of rubbing to upper right front corner tip and base of spine panel. (22721). Octavo, cloth. 996 copies printed. Collects three Solar Pons adventures.

Sauk City, Wisconsin: Mycroft & Moran, 1952. First Edition, 2000 copies. 8vo., 112pp.; VG/VG; spine black with black and white lettering; dust jacket protected with a mylar covering, price uncut '$2.50; slight wear to head of spine, slight soling to rear cover; SIGNED on ffep, 'Sincerely / August Derleth'; interior clean; in excellent condition; LP consignment; shelved case 8, Dupont. 1283015. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.

Mycroft & Moran, 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. Good++/Good++. Hardcover in dust jacket. SIGNED and inscribed by author August Derleth on first free endpaper. Limited printing of 2000 copies. Very nice black cloth boards with title in gold on spine. Light edge wear. Endpapers show glue residue shadows and tanning. Text pages are clean. Yellow and black dust jacket is chipped at corners and spine ends. Spine, creases and edges noticeably rubbed. Rear jacket shows tanning and light soil. Looks good in new protective mylar. Always carefully wrapped and shipped in cardboard boxes to protect your purchase.