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Dunsany, Lord; Sime, Sidney (illus.).
The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories.
Publisher: George Allen & Sons, London;
Date of Publication: 1908
Stock Code: 15238
First edition. Square octavo, pp., xi, [1], 242, [2], tissue-guarded frontispiece and 8 photolithographic plates after drawings by Sidney Sime. Publisher’s original green cloth; titled in gilt to spine; titled in gilt above sword vignette in gilt to upper board; top edge gilt; white end-papers. Neat ownership inscription in ink to front free end-paper. Corners and upper joint a little rubbed; spine-tips softened. Light toning to edges of text-block; occasional nicks to edges; a few spots of darker toning. A very good copy. Twelve short stories by Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany (1878-1957), beautifully illustrated by Sidney Sime. Dunsany’s influence on fantasy writers was profound. J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Jorge Luis Borges, Arthur C. Clarke, and Guillermo Del Torro all cite Dunsany as a major influence. Ursula Le Guin wrote of Dunsany ‘On the map of literature, I see Dunsany as a small, walled city in a desert, with opal walls and spires of bronze, and strange little streets, and a great gate made from a single tooth. The lord of the city is a generous host. It is not on the beaten path, but it is worth visiting.’ £350.00