London: John C. Nimmo 1885. Octavo two volumes: pp. i-ix x-lxxii 1 2-332; 1-8 1 2-399 400: blank 20-page publisher's catalogue dated "SEPTEMBER 1884" inserted at rear flyleaves at front and rear eleven inserted plates with etchings by Lalauze title pages printed in orange and black original gray bevel-edged cloth spine panels stamped in gold all edges untrimmed white endpapers with floral pattern printed in purple. First edition of this collection. According to the "publisher's notice" "One thousand copies of this Edition have been printed and / the type distributed. No more will be published." One of the standard English translations of Hoffmann's short fiction. Collects eleven stories all but one taken from DIE SERAPIONS-BRUDER 1819-1821. "Rivals Poe whom he influenced in his importance as a creator of the modern supernatural tale." - Sullivan ed The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural pp. 204-05. "The celebrated short tales and novels of . Hoffmann . are a byword for mellowness of background and maturity of form . they convey the grotesque rather than the terrible." - Lovecraft Supernatural Horror in Literature p. 45. Not all stories collected here are fantastic; includes "Signor Formica" perhaps Hoffmann's best historical tale and "Mademoiselle de Scuderi" sometimes viewed as the first detective story. Barron ed Fantasy and Horror 1999 1-69 and 1-71. Barron ed Horror Literature 1-40. Bleiler The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 827. Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature IV pp. 1547-53. Survey of Science Fiction Literature IV pp. 1848-53 "The Sandman". Tymn ed Fantasy Literature pp. 97-8. Tymn ed Horror Literature 1-164. Bleiler 1978 p. 101. Reginald 07315. Cloth lightly worn at spine ends and corner tips a bit of soiling to cloth still a clean tight very good set. #137623 John C. Nimmo unknown