AND THE DARKNESS FALLS - INSCRIBED
Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1946. First Edition. Item #8615
First Printing. Octavo (22cm); patterned paper-covered boards and black cloth backstrip, blocked and titled in grayish-blue and gilt on spine; light blue topstain; dustjacket; ix,3-631,[1]pp. Inscribed by Karloff in green pen on the front endpaper: "Best wishes / Boris Karloff." Subtle fading to topstain, with one small stain to right edge of textblock, else clean internally; Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $2.75), gently spine-sunned, lightly edgeworn, with some toning to rear panel and flap edges, and two small rectangular areas of surface loss to upper spine panel and upper right corner of front panel; Very Good+.
The second of two horror anthologies published during the 1940s, edited by English actor Boris Karloff (1887-1969), best known for his roles in Frankenstein, The Mummy, House of Dracula, and The Raven. Karloff selected and introduced 72 stories, including contributions by Lafcadio Hearn, Ambrose Bierce, John Buchan, Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, August Derleth, H.R. Wakefield, Dorothy Sayers, Edgar Allan Poe, William Irish, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, W. Somerset Maugham, and others. Uncommon inscribed. 8615.
Price: $3,500.00