DOYLE, Arthur Conan (1859-1930). The History of Spiritualism. New York: George H. Doran Company, [1926].
2 volumes, 8vo. 16 plates after photographs. Original blue cloth, gilt-lettered spines; original dust jackets(spines gently sunned and with light soiling, front panel of vol. II also a bit sunned, small tape repair on verso near head). Provenance: Thomas Erwin Starr (bookplate).
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST ISSUE with gilt-lettering. “The book was based on a series of articles which the author had written without any particular end in mind. It was done in collaboration with Leslie Curnow, who had one of the largest private collections of psychic books and was an authority on a number of aspects of spiritualism. He agreed to supply Conan Doyle with the fruits of his researches and in many cases gave him the finished article, which was altered only to the extent of showing the author’s personal point of view” (Green and Gibson B37b).