London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1886
First edition - the first English hardcover edition, in the original salmon cloth. The bookplate of George Barr McCutcheon, the 19th Century American novelist and playwright, on the front pastedown. A very good copy, only with a bit of rubbing to the cloth. Slightly worn edges, and bumps to the extremities of the spine. A crack to the front hinge and the binding a bit shaken, but otherwise a solid and essentially intact volume. The contents fine throughout but for foxing and slight adhesive residue to the first free endpaper, as well a bit of damp stain to the top right corners of pages 73-76. A very handsome example overall of this often fragile volume, the present with interesting provenance. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Laid in is a newspaper clipping from 1887, advertising the very first stage performance of the story. A cornerstone of gothic horror, and one of the most recognizable works in English literature. Jekyll and Hyde is the archetype of tales of multiple personality, particularly split between good and evil.