Stevens Francis Eshbadfh Lloyd Arthur (1 results)

Hard Back. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good Slipcase. Binkley, Ric - Illustrations (illustrator). First Edition Stated. 190 Pages. Originally copyrighted by Street & Smith, Inc. in 1919. This is a Polaris Press 1952 copyright. Very, very light age tanning to the binding side of the light gray endpapers. Barely noticeable. Top page edges are dark green. Interior text pages are bright, tight, and white. The silver lettering on the spine is sharp and clear. The slipcase has some sun damage to one side at the top and front. This is one of 1,500 copies printed and intended to be numbered. A place was provided for the copy No. but instead of a number xxxxx is inked in. The Polaris Fantasy Library was a short-lived publishing experiment by Fantasy Press that only lasted through two projects. This was the first one. The Heads of Cerberus is a ground-breaking story by Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1883-1948), writing as Francis Stevens. This dystopian novel appeared in 5 parts in The Thrill Book, 1919-1920, and is said to have been the first published science fiction story presenting a plot about an alternate universe. Bennett has also been credited by some with creating the new genre of Dark Fantasy. Though her work drew praise even from H.P. Lovecraft, she is almost forgotten today. Her body of work was small: Just 5 novels and 8 novellas/short stories, all but one of which were published between 1917 and 1923. Basically, she stopped writing at age 40, even though she lived until she was 65. This volume was designed by L. A. Eshbach the colophon on the title page, used here for the first time, is the work of Hannes Bok. The book was composed in Electra, a modern type face designed by W. A. Dwiggins and introduced in 1937; and in hand set Nicolas Cochin, a face based on an 18th century engraved letter and named for the 18th century designer, Charles Nicolas Cochin. This type face was introduced in 1915. The paper is deckle-edged Antique, manufactured especially for Polaris Press by the Curtis Paper Company, Newark, Delaware. The cloth, Arrestox B, blue-green, was made by the Bancroft Mills, Wilmington, Delaware. The composition and printing were by F. A.,Woerner, Reading, Pennsylvania, and the binding by Arnold's Book Bindery, Reading, Pennsylvania. Completed in March, 1952.