This group of books consists of The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe, Prayers Written at Vailima by R L Stevenson, Familiar Studies of Men and Books by R L Stevenson, and An Intimate Portrait of R. L. S. by his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne.  

Sizes: 7 5/8 x 5 3/8 x 1 in. 6 3/16 x 4 1/8 in. 7 3/8 x 4 9/16 in. 6 9/16 x 4 1/2 in. 

The Gold Bug was a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1843 and it’s a story about someone who finds a gold-colored bug and secret codes that lead to a discovery of treasure. 

He submitted the story to a newspaper in Philadelphia, where it won first prize and carried a hefty pay out for him. Poe (1809 - 1849) lived a short life, but was known for his poetry and short stories, and his tales such as The Raven and Murders in the Rue Morgue often involved mystery and the macabre. 

The title here is The Gold Insect … Being the Gold Bug put into Basic English, written by A P Rossiter and published by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner in London in 1932, and it is a first edition that was part of the Psyche Miniatures General Series (no. 45). It is 6 3/16 x 4 1/8 inches wide, with a paper label on a green spine and green lettering on a cream-colored cover, it has blank endpapers, a list of Psyche Miniatures and a foldout-page of properties of Basic English preceding the title page, a list of Basic English and one page of Psyche: An Annual Review at the rear, and 81 pages of text.   

The book is in very good condition, with clean pages and a tight binding, a slight split near the paper label, light wear on the Psyche list fold-out and occasional brown spots, and it’s a rare book - we found only three copies of this title listed online. 

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) also lived a short life, but he was an incredible writer and author too. Born in Scotland, he wrote adventure novels such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Treasure Island, among others, and his books are still very popular today.  

Prayers Written At Vailima, with An Introduction by Mrs. Stevenson, was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in New York in 1904 and printed by the Merrymount Press in Boston and it is a first edition. The book was a collection of prayers written by Robert Louis Stevenson when he and his wife lived in Samoa - they moved there because of his health - and the topics include morning and Sunday prayers, as well as prayers for grace, family, forgetfulness, and joy, and each Samoan household ended the day with prayer and the singing of hymns - a life of simplicity and peace for Stevenson.   

The stiff leatherette has red covers and gilt lettering and gilt decorations on the front cover, blank endpapers, titles of two books by R L Stevenson before the half-title, then the half title and title page, the copyright page is dated 1904, which makes this a first edition, the Introduction runs from vii to xiv, there are 19 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. 

The book measures 7 3/8 x 4 9/16 inches wide and is in good condition. The pages are clean and tight, and there is damage at the heel of the spine and very light wear at the tips.  

Stevenson’s Familiar Studies of Men and Books has a vellum binding, a red label with gilt lettering and gilt decorations on the spine, lightly colored marbled endpapers with the armorial bookplate of Herbert R. Rathbone, the book was published by Chatto & Windus in London in 1906, printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. in Edinburgh and London, with a Preface that runs from vii - xx (with uncut pages), one page of Contents, 277 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. The first edition was published in 1882 and this is the rare fine-paper edition, according to the title page, and it contains a series of criticisms of well-known authors such as Victor Hugo, Walt Whitman, and Thoreau.   

Herbert Reynolds Rathbone (1862 - 1930) was born in Greenbank, Lancaster and edited the Memoir of Kitty Wilkinson of Liverpool 1786-1860, and that was his claim to fame.  

The book measures 6 9/16 x 4 1/2 inches wide and is in great condition, with clean pages and a tight binding, wisps of rubbing at the tips, and a penciled note about the vellum binding on a front free endpaper.  

The last Stevenson book is An Intimate Portrait of RLS written by his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne. Stevenson had no biological children of his own, Osbourne was the son his wife by a previous marriage, and Osbourne had an unclose view of Stevenson’s s life, so this biography. The boy was published in New York by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1924 and is a first edition (the dates on the title page and copyright page match, with no other printings).  

The book is quarter bound, with black cloth over brown boards, a paper label on the spine, the owner’s name on a front free endpaper, a half-title, title and copyright page, and 155 pages of text. It measures 7 5/8 x 5 3/8 inches wide, with clean pages and a tight binding, light bumps on the heel and crown of the spine, and light wear at the tips.   

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