THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURE OF JANE SMITH de WENTWORTH PATRICIA - 1923

London: Andrew Melrose, 1923. First Edition. Hard Cover. Dust Jacket. Bound in the publishers original deep red cloth with black titles to the front board and the spine. A VG copy (dated 1923 on the title page) with minor rubbing and spotting to the extremities. Cooper & Pike (Collecting Detective Fiction page 306) call for gilt spine lettering and title and author blind-stamped on the front cover which also has a blind-stamped triple borderand deep red cloth. I have compared this copy with: (a) the entry in the English Catalogue of books to establish that this copy is the correct size and has the correct number of pages; and (b) with another 1st edition copy that conforms exactly with the Cooper and Pike description. I can confirm that this copy is identical in all respects except for the lettering (which is in black) and the absence of the border. One can safely assume that this copy is probably a variant not recorded in Cooper and Pike or alternatively a Colonial Issue (as this book originated in Australia). This copy comes with its original D/W. The D/W has benefitted from expert archival restoration to 3.8 cm deep chip to the base of the spine but otherwise is largely complete but with rubbing and creasing and a few minor shallow chips to the extremities which have also been repaired. The superb art-work by Sinclair is complete and the D/W is very bright especially considering its white background. I have checked the D/W with that in the British Library and can confirm that it is identical in every respect except for the price (7/6 net) which is missing from the spine of this copy (as one might expect from a copy that originated in the Commonwealth). I have seen several other books that were sold in the Commonwealth which have been un-priced. Patricia Wentworths 1st crime novel and extremely scarce either in or out of its D/W. A real rarity.