The Hound of the Baskervilles

1902, the first issue with all 16 plates present

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition (in book form), first issue. Hardback, bound in red cloth with Alfred Garth Jones's superb design of the Hound on a tor in black as the central motif, titled in gilt to upper board and spine. 19 × 12.5cm, 359pp. *This is the first issue with "you" for "your" on page 13, line 3. Also the plate no 3 is printed in reverse (so the artist's name reads backwards). Plate 13 is indexed as being at p310 but is instead bound in at p321, as is correct according to the page reference printed in the lower margin.

The terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery of a body: this classic horror story pits detective against dog, rationalism against the supernatural, good against evil. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the wild Devon moorland with the footprints of a giant hound nearby, the blame is placed on a family curse. It is left to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve the mystery of the legend of the phantom hound before Sir Charles' heir comes to an equally gruesome end. The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and has continued to hold its place in the popular imagination.

Condition

A good copy with some wear. The red cloth is rubbed and bumped to the spine ends, joints and corners, with some light chipping and patchy mottled fading to the fore-edge of the boards. The gilt titling remains crisp to the upper board, the spine's cloth is slightly faded. Internally, the book lacks the ffep, opening to the half-title. Some remnant of the ffep remains. All 16 plates are present, plate 2 at page 58 is neatly detached with just a little creasing to the edges. The main body of text is in strong readable condition, with pages clean but a bit age-toned. The inner binding is secure, with just a little movement in the front hinge. Overall, a decent copy, perfectly readable, with all plates present.

Further images are available on request.