Leblanc, Maurice "Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes" [M. A. Donohue, 1910]

LEBLANC, Maurice. Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes.

Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Co., 1910. First American edition thus. 7.5" x 5", 350ppTranslated from the French by George Morehead. Publisher's decorated olive-green cloth stamped in white and black. 318pp. Light rubbing and soiling to cloth, lettering somewhat dulled on spine, internally clean. Bookplate on front pastedown. Very Good.

A collection of adventures pitting Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief Arsène Lupin against the thinly disguised detective "Herlock Sholmes," created after objections from Arthur Conan Doyle's representatives prevented direct use of Sherlock Holmes. First appearing in the years immediately following Lupin's debut, these stories helped establish the rivalry between master thief and master detective that became one of the defining themes of the series. The volume includes "The Blue Diamond," "Herlock Sholmes Opens Hostilities," "The Jewish Lamp," and other classic Lupin tales. An early American appearance of one of the most enduring characters in crime fiction and a cornerstone title in the Arsène Lupin canon.