The Virginia: A Horseman of the Plains

First UK edition, first printing. xiv, 504pp, [16]pp publisher's catalogue at rear., with a tissue-guarded, half tone plate frontispiece and seven further half tone plate illustrations, all by Arthur Keller. Red decorated cloth boards with gilt lettering front and spine. 8vo. Cloth a little shelf worn, gently rubbed at edges and joints, mildly rounded at ends of slightly sunned spine. Text block edges a tad soiled. Front hinge strained but not cracked, else internally neat, clean, bright and tight. A presentable and evocative copy of the first UK edition of the novel, the author's first book, reputed to be the first western, influencing and starting the American Western genre. Hard to find. The publisher's catalogue promotes Macmillan's Six Shilling Novels series and features works by Charles Major, Rudyard Kipling, Marion Crawford, Egerton Castle, Winston Churchill and many others.