£150
FIRST EDITION, 4to, ff. 138 + numerous insertions, extra leaves, and plates (complete). Further additions pasted in to some leaves. Stitched as issued with red ribbon in original buff paper wrappers printed in red and dark blue. First leaf sprung. Wrappers somewhat creased and chipped to edges, paper seal closing the last six leaves (the solution to the mystery) removed.
The true first edition - it was reprinted in near-facsimile in the 1970s - of this pioneering participatory detective 'novel', in the form of a dossier of case files and accompanying evidence, allowing the reader to try to solve the mystery before opening the sealed section at the rear which records the right answer. Expensive to produce and fiddly to sell, it nearly flopped before Selfridges agreed to take 1,000 copies as long as Wheatley signed them all; it went on to sell 120,000 within six months. Three more dossiers followed from the pens of Wheatley and his friend Links (who did the actual plotting), and their influence stretched all the way to computer games - this title was adapted for the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
