Elsie Venner: a romance of destiny.
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1861. Two volumes. 8vo. 288; 312 pp., plus 16 pages publisher’s advertisements dated January, 1861. FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION. Original brown cloth, decorated in blind, title in gilt to spines, chipped at head and foot of spine, some spotting on covers. Item #18172
First edition, first printing with the points as described in NCBEL and with the 16 pages publisher’s advertisements dated January, 1861 at the end of Volume II. Holmes’ premiere work of fiction, which first appeared in the January 1860 and April 1861 issues of The Atlantic Monthly with the title The Professor’s Story. Apparently, the work resulted in Holmes’ receiving several strange letters from people claiming similar pathology to that of Elsie Venner. The book was so popular, that it was even dramatized, with Mrs. D.P. Bowers playing the lead role.
Price: $300.00