GREAT BATTLES OF THE WORLD

1901. Sloan, John. Illustrated by John Sloan. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1901. Original red cloth decorated in silver and gilt.

First Edition. Crane dreamed up the idea of dramatizing great battles as a money-making scheme: "such sure quick money," he wrote his agent Pinker. Crane was very familiar with recent battles: since 1895 he had been a war correspondent in Cuba and in Greece, and had just begun reporting on the Boer War when he died of consumption in mid-1900 (in the Black Forest, where he had gone to seek the cure). He chose battles for their "picturesque and theatric qualities." Kate Frederic, common-law wife of the writer Harold Frederic, actually did most of the research and much of the writing; she "felt indebted to the Cranes for providing a home for her children; she expected [and received] no acknowledgement for writing GREAT BATTLES" [Stallman]. The book was not published until after Crane's death, from consumption, in June 1900. This copy is in red cloth, with crossed swords in silver and gold; others were issued in blue-green, with no priority. It is in near-fine condition (spine very slightly dulled). Williams & Starrett 30; Blanck 4094.