This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/1/2023
[VINCE, Henry Scott? (1850-1891)]. Sleep Scenes; or, Dreams of a Laudanum Drinker. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1868. [Bound with:] A Sprig of Holly. (Lacking 4pp. preliminaries including title).
2 volumes in one, 8vo. Half contemporary morocco, gilt-stamped spine (joints and corners rubbed). Provenance: several leaves of marginalia including a notation above Chapter III “The Voyage of Enchantment” which calls this entry the “best piece in the book” and is initialed by H.S.W.; also see catalogue note below.
FIRST EDITION (presumably) of this entirely unrecorded work which “stands as a major contribution to 19th-century opium literature” (W & V Dailey catalogue note). The supposed author, which OCLC lists under anonymous authorship, is revealed on the title-page as Henry Scott Vince in an early hand but is only known to have only authored one novel (Two Pardons, 1889). A gift inscription on the front free endpaper reveals the book was given to “F.S.H.” from Herbert S. White of Lewisham. On the final page, the author is not revealed but his place of authorship and date is given: “Lewisham, June 10th, 1868”. Perhaps this gift inscription was a pseudonym used by Henry Scott Vince. The second work is likewise anonymous and contains a short horror story entitled “A Night with a Sorceress” which features an enormous amount of tobacco pipe smoke by all the participants. A Horowitz high spot.