8vo. (Very occasional light spotting, offsetting from bookplate to front free endpaper.) 8 plates after Sydney Seymour Lucas. Original gilt-lettered red cloth (a bit of darkening to covers). Provenance: John Talbot Gernon (morocco bookplate).

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST FATHER BROWN NOVEL. "The miracle-book of 1911 introduced Father Brown to an eternally grateful public. The position of Father Brown has been expressed pertinently by Barnaby Ross who wrote: 'If there is one character in detective fiction who possesses the innocence and wisdom to sit beside the immortal Holmes, it is that apotheosis of incredulity, Father Brown'" (Queen's Quorum 47). A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone.