WITNESS TO THE DEED by G. Manville Fenn John C. Winston Co., circa 1905 Condition: Very Good+ to Near Fine This book was written about the time that Conan Doyle was "killing off" Sherlock Holmes, so it's among the first to "take up the slack" in detective fiction. G. Manville Fenn was a popular writer of boys' books in the last quarter of the 19th century, but this is one of his occasional books for adults. According to a critical essay on the book by Eric Ford, Fen turns "a surprisingly critical eye on all aspects of the Victorian scene, including the contemporary world of business and industry". It was first published in the U.S. in 1894 by Lippincott; then Henry T. Coates Co. reprinted it. The John C. Winston Co. purchased most of the retiring Coates' inventory in 1904. (Winston is now best known for its science fiction series of the 1950s.) This is the only known copy of the Winston edition currently available for sale. ("Winston" is on the spine, but "Henry T. Coates" is still on the title page, and there's a listing of other Coates titles in the back of the book.) Because of its significance as a Doyle-era detective novel, it has recently been reprinted in both hardback and paperback editions. But, for collectors, vintage copies are now few in number and usually in ragged condition. This could well be the best preserved vintage copy on the market today. There is only minimal exterior wear (mainly some back cover rubbing and a minor bump/tear to one edge). There is some wrinkling on a number of pages and a minor bump and minor stain on the page fore-edges. The book has tight binding, is unmarked and the pages have only light age toning. A decidedly scarce vintage copy in this condition.