The Shunned House.

LOVECRAFT, H.P.

Athol, Massachusetts: W. Paul Cook - The Recluse Press, 1928.

First edition / First printing. Unbound sheets. Item #1488

First edition printing of Lovecraft's first book. This is one of approximately 50 sets of unbound sheets, from a total print run of approximately 300 sets of sheets. The convoluted publishing history of this most famous Lovecraft work is described in detail by Roy A. Squires in Jaffery's "Horrors and Unpleasantries," #62. By 1961, Arkham House had acquired 150 sets and bound 100 of them, leaving 50 unbound sets available for sale as sheets only. This is one of those sets and contains the Arkham House copyright paste-over label, with book titles printed in bold, as described by Squires.

From the Arkham House copyright notice: "Though the sheets of this story were printed and marked for copyright in 1928, the story was neither bound nor circulated at that time. A few copies were bound, put under copyright, and circulated by R.H. Barlow in 1936, but the first wide publication of the story was in the magazine, Weird Tales, in the following year. The story was originally set up and printed by the late W. Paul Cook, publisher of The Recluse."

The extreme edges (not the faces) of the pages have tiny brown spots, else the sheets are completely clean and unmarked. Housed in a specially made oatmeal cloth clamshell case.

An extremely rare and unique Lovecraft work (and Arkham House title), in its original state and highly collectible.