The Grande Trouvaille signed by Arthur Machen first edition 1923

MACHEN, Arthur. The Grande Trouvaille. A Legend of Pentonville. (signed)
 
London, The First Edition Bookshop (R. Townley Searle), n.d. [c.1923].
 
Small quarto (210 x 275 mm). 8 pages including wrappers. One of 250 copies signed by the author, this copy no. 166, signed by Machen beneath limitation. With woodcut illustrations in the text.
Original printed wrappers. Some light and occasional foxing throughout, a little heavier to rear cover, otherwise a very good copy.
 
A short account of a book-hunting episode in Pentonville, in which Machen and a companion discover a back street bookshop containing unexpected material, including a rare penny dreadful. Machen notes that even the most experienced bookseller will have gaps in knowledge and stock, and that significant material may lie unnoticed at any given moment.
 
A rare and pleasing to the eye, Machen signed pamphlet on the pleasures and uncertainties of book collecting. According to COPAC only five copies are placed in holding libraries.