The Sign of Four, Sherlock Holmes, First Edition in Book Form, Second Issue, 1890

CONAN DOYLE, Arthur. The Sign of Four. London: Spencer Blackett, 1890.

First edition in book form, second issue. Octavo (8vo). [iv], 283, [1, blank] pp. Near-contemporary red morocco binding, boards panelled in gilt, spine with five raised bands and gilt lettering, gilt dentelles, and marbled endpapers. Frontispiece by Charles Kerr, with tissue guard. All edges uncut.

Second issue points, with the numeral “138” on the contents page incomplete and reading “13,” and with “wished” appearing as “w shed” on p. 56, line 16. This copy issued without advertisements, as was the case in some copies. Green & Gibson, p. 34.

Contents clean and unmarked, with occasional foxing as usual. Binding remains sound and square; front hinge cracked but holding. Light general wear to extremities, corners slightly bumped, spine a little scuffed. A very attractive, well-preserved copy of this increasingly scarce early Sherlock Holmes edition.

The second Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of Four deepens the world first introduced in A Study in Scarlet, sending Holmes and Watson into a darker and more atmospheric mystery of imperial treasure, betrayal, secret oaths, and murder. The story begins with Mary Morstan’s strange appeal to Baker Street and unfolds into one of the great early Holmes plots, combining the Agra treasure, the Sholto family secret, Jonathan Small’s revenge, and the famous Thames pursuit. First published in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890, the novel also marks a central moment in the Holmes canon: Watson’s meeting with Mary Morstan, his future wife. 

Additional pictures are gladly provided on request. 
[Attributes: First Edition; Hard Cover]