The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle. (2v.). Definitive text edited especially for this edition by Edgar W. Smith. Illustrated throughout with a selective collation of the original drawings by Frederic Dorr Steele, Sidney Paget and many others, all reproduced, within ruled frames, as gravure prints. Designed by W. A. Dwiggings. Printed by Peter Bielenson, Mount Vernon, New York. Bound by Russell-Rutter Co., New York. Original Old Style type used in 12-point size, printed on Curtis' Colophon Text paper especially made for this edition. Quarter-bound in black linen stamped in gold lead with sides covered with a decorative wall paper design [the kind of wallpaper that might have been on the walls of 221B Baker Street, showing "a patriotic V. R. done in bullet-pocks"] and with a came-portrait of Sherlock Holmes embedded in the cover. The two volumes are housed in a brown slipcase with cream paper title label on edge. [Volume I] containing the novel The Valley of Fear. 220p, and introduced by Anthony Boucher, and [Volume II] containing the twelve adventures original published as The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. 296p, and introduced by Christopher Morley. Limited to 1500 copies out of which this is copy number 1130.

Very good books with light bumping to corners, very mild crushing to spine tips and a few spots of wear to joints, and volume two with a handful of small ear marks; else both fine, clean and bright throughout. Both with the original protective glassine wrappers, now frayed and worn. In a somewhat worn slipcase that has a small split to front corner, a crack to upper rear panel, and is a little worn to joints and with a lightly tanned label; else nice and structurally sound. Still a very nice example overall.

This is the third of three boxed sets (and a total of eight volumes) published by the Limited Editions Club between 1950 and 1952, that together form The Complete Sherlock Holmes. In a letter to its members dated 1952, the Club mentioned that any of the eight volumes is complete unto itself, and wrote that "it seems safe to predict that these volumes will become one of the most sought-after of all [their] publications, even by members of the Sherlock Holmes Klubben i Danmark and the other Scion Societies."