Heart Of The West Henry, O. [Pseudonym Of William Sydney Porter] Fiction (Early 20Th Century)

New York: The McClure Company, 1907. Original dark brown cloth pictorially decorated in light green, pale grey, and white. First Edition of this collection of nineteen tales sited in the American West, by this master of the short story -- known for often-dark humor and an ironic twist at the end. As the publisher McClure was wont to do (see his 1903 edition of Conan Doyle's RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES), the binding is a dark cloth stamped with light-colored pigments -- which was unfortunate, as those pigments almost inevitably flake off, over time. This near-fine copy is much better than most, since (except for a little erosion of the author's and publisher's names on the spine), there is no flaking of that light green and grey and white pigment. Blanck 16274. Provenance: bookplate of the great collector H. Bradley Martin, whose library was sold by Sotheby's over the course of nine sales in 1989-1990.