Hodgson, William Hope. The House on The Borderland..

Sauk City: Arkham House, 1946.
Large 8vo. 640pp. Very good in publisher's black cloth titled and decorated in gilt to spine, very minor dulling. In a very good dustwrapper with the bare minimum of edgewear. Sharp, bright and clean, a nice, strong copy. Internally clean, with bookplate of John David Gaffen to the front pastedown. Incorporating a kind of "Welcome to William Hope Hodgson" approach whereby most of his major works are presented alongside an essay by H.C. Koenig, and an attempt at a bibliography. Hodgson led an extraordinary life; ran away to sea, was the first person to photograph stalk lightning from a ship in a storm, taught self defense to the Bradford police force, had an altercation with Houdini, wrote a number of blindingly splendid weird tales that influenced everyone from Lovecraft to Gary Gygax, signed up as a relatively senior soldier during the First World War and was finally disintegrated by a shell in Belgium at the age of 41. He was an all round marvel of a chap, and notwithstanding his urge to lapse into faux 17th century narrative prose (something that Lovecraft might have emulated with more success), his weird tales are some of the most atmospheric and exciting around. Probably his most well known creation (outside of a couple of his characters making guest appearances in "Lost") would have to be Thomas Carnacki, psychic detective and "Ghost Finder." whose adventures ran in The Idler magazine in 1910. Everyone should read William Hope Hodgson, thank you for your attention.