Publication: James R Osgood and Company, 1873, Boston
First U. S. edition and first edition in English. Originally published in France in 1866 as "L' Affaire Lerouge." Translated from the French by Fred Williams and George A. O. Ernst. Maroon cloth, covers blind-stamped, titles and devices stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine, dark brown front and rear endpapers, 156 pp., plus 4 pp. advertisements, double column. This is one of the earliest books whereby a detective is introduced and the entire novel is structured around a crime and its detection. Small corner chips at the top of the front and rear free endpapers, else a near fine, bright, clean copy of a rare book and an early Haycraft/Queen Cornerstone mystery.
Inventory Number: 47808