James, M. R. The Five Jars. London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1922. First edition. Octavo, pp. [1-4] 5 [6] 7 [8-10] 11-172. Original orange cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black, fore- and bottom edges rough-trimmed. Illustrated by Gilbert James with seven inserted plates. Gift inscription on front free endpaper is dated "Christmas 1922." A bit of foxing to edges of text block and to first and last few pages, else a fine sharp copy. #890. $200. This short novel was written for Jane McBryde, the posthumously-born daughter of James McBryde, a close friend of James' who had illustrated his first collection and died in the year of its publication (1904) at the age of 30. "Epistolary story whose narrator uses magical means to liberate the extra senses which allow him to perceive the supernatural world surrounding the one which our ordinary sense reveal; he becomes vulnerable to the forces of evil but resists them with the aid of the fairies. A pleasant allegory of the powers of the imagination, composed -- after the fashion of Carroll's Alice books -- to amuse a young friend." -- Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 3-192.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The Five Jars
Publisher: Edward Arnold, London
Publication Date: 1922
Binding: Hardback
Illustrator: Gilbert James
Edition: First Edition.
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Store Description

When I began my bookselling business in 1996 I called it "Eldritch Books" because that adjective at least partly covered the type of material I offered (and because its similarity to my own surname seemed so -- eldritch). "Ghost stories" would be another handy, if somewhat reductive, term. Most of it is fiction from the 19th and early 20th century with a strong emphasis on the fantastic. Since the most familiar and relevant genre terms in use today -- "science fiction," "fantasy," "supernatural," "horror" -- were not so much in use when these books were first published, pegging them that way can be anachronistic. But that should give you the general idea. I don't have much in the way of American pulp (either in magazine or specialty press book form) but otherwise my interests range widely from high-brow to middle-brow to low-brow to amateur/eccentric. You're more likely to find rare and obscure works here than high spots. (Or at least they're obscure now, whatever their status was when first published.) In 2001 I went to work for L. W. Currey as cataloguer and general assistant. Since 2014 I've been back working on my own. I have exhibited at convention fairs (such as WFC and Readercon) in the past. I began collecting and studying antiquarian fantasy around 1980. Some of my essays have appeared in genre publications such as NYRSF, Wormwood and F&SF. I tend to carefully research my inventory and write extensive notes. (If another dealer wishes to make use of any of these notes, I'd appreciate the courtesy of putting such excerpts in quotes and giving proper attribution to me. That's what I do when I quote from any of my reference works.) I will be gradually listing my inventory on ABE over the coming years. I hope you find something of interest.

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Robert Eldridge, Bookseller
NY, U.S.A.

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