{"product_id":"james-h-k-the-destruction-of-mephisto-s-greatest-web-raleigh-publishing-1914","title":"JAMES, H. K. “The Destruction of Mephisto’s Greatest Web” [Raleigh Publishing, 1914]","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"94\" data-end=\"182\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"94\" data-end=\"110\"\u003eJAMES, H. K.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"111\" data-end=\"182\"\u003eThe Destruction of Mephisto’s Greatest Web: Or, All Grafts Laid Bare.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"184\" data-end=\"1047\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eSalt Lake City, Utah: Raleigh Publishing Company, 1914. First edition. 8” x 5.5”, illustrated throughout with 21 full-page plates and diagrams. Publisher’s original dark green cloth elaborately stamped in gilt to front board and spine. A popular early twentieth-century exposé of gambling schemes, confidence games, clairvoyants, fraudulent spiritualists, and other forms of organized swindling, illustrated with scenes of gambling halls, trick devices, and “operators” at work. Includes chapters on card sharps, fortune tellers, fake investment schemes, shell games, race-track frauds, and confidence men, written in the sensational reform style characteristic of Progressive Era anti-vice literature. Light rubbing to extremities with minor bumping at spine ends, gilt bright and binding sound. Internally clean with illustrations sharp and complete. Very Good.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"184\" data-end=\"1047\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThe Raleigh Publishing Company was one of a number of early twentieth-century subscription and “moral reform” publishers that specialized in sensational exposés of vice, fraud, gambling, prostitution, and urban corruption. Books like this were often sold door-to-door or by traveling salesmen rather than through the standard trade. The dramatic title, ornate gilt binding, and heavy use of illustrations were all part of that sales strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Buzz Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53406906319127,"sku":null,"price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0846\/0887\/6823\/files\/2AC3D35E-3C78-465E-8E37-E98A8D9E04C8.jpg?v=1779392676","url":"https:\/\/buzzbookstore.com\/es\/products\/james-h-k-the-destruction-of-mephisto-s-greatest-web-raleigh-publishing-1914","provider":"Buzz Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}