The Story of the Champions of the Round Table (Signed)

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Very good. 8vo. xviii, (329),(i)pp. Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle. Original yellow-brown cloth blocked in red, black and gilt. Cloth soiled and lightly worn at edges, rear inner hinge neatly mended, else a very good copy. Tipped onto the front pastedown is a handwritten letter from Pyle issued from his home in Wilmington, Delaware: "My Dear Mr. Alden: I have received this M.S. copy sent me and will read it and report to you as soon as possible -- within a day or two, I think. Very sincerely yours, Howard Pyle." The addressee was Henry Mills Alden, editor of first Harper's Weekly then of Harper's Monthly, to which Pyle was a contributor. Based on the date of the letter, it is possible that the manuscript in question was "Youma" by Lafcadio Hearn (published January and February 1890 in Harper's Monthly).