Evening in Spring (signed & doodled in Frank Utpatel DJ)

Stanton and Lee. Sauk City, Wisconsin. 1945. 308 pages. First Stanton and Lee edition, first printing. Signed and inscribed by author and Arkham House founder, August Derleth. Signed, inscribed and doodled on FFEP: For __ __, My Favorite Novel, Sincerely, August Derleth, with a drawn smiliey face. Originally, Evening in Spring was published by Charles Scribners & Sons in 1941. Derleth re-released the title with Stanton & Lee in 1945 with his preferred DJ, a Frank Utpatel designed DJ with a girl on the street at dusk; hence this is a first edition thus. Derleth considered this title his finest work (and favorite per his inscription.) An autobiographical novel of first love beset by small-town religious bigotry. The work received critical praise from The New Yorker, amongst others. Book is tight; binding and hinges are sound. Light rubbing to black cloth panels. Toning to endpapers, mostly in gutters. DJ shows light handling along edges with a couple of small rubs and shallow chips. A nice signed presentation copy; VG/VG.…