Rare Arkham House/Recluse Press Book

The seller states:

H.P. Lovecraft: The Shunned House Extremely Rare Arkham House Bound Edition. (Athol, Massachusetts: The Recluse Press, 1928; bound by Arkham House in 1961), first edition, first Arkham House state (copyright cancel on verso of title page has titles of magazines and books in bold face), 59 pages, black cloth with faint blind-stamping on the spine reading "Lovecraft The Shunned House Arkham House", 12mo (5.25" x 7.5"), no dust jacket as issued, "Canterbury Laid" watermark present in paper, consistent with the original 1928 printing. Preface by Frank Belknap Long. This small volume constitutes the rarest book in the Arkham House canon, though one can argue that this is not a true Arkham House title at all. In 1928, W. Paul Cook printed approximately 300 unbound sets of The Shunned House for The Recluse Press. At the time, Lovecraft's reputation as a writer of weird fiction did not translate into book sales; he barely stamped out a living publishing in the pulp magazines of the time period. The unbound copies of this very book sat largely unsold until Arkham House began moving them in the early 1950s. Arkham bound the final 100 sets in black cloth in 1961. This present copy is one of those lonely 100, and the jewel in the crown for Arkham House collectors. It is believed that there are only a handful of this binding of this printing of The Shunned House left in existence. For serious Arkham House collectors, this may be your only chance to acquire this magnificent book, which is in fine condition. Besides trivial edge and corner wear and mild foxing to a few pages, this copy is as good as it gets. From the Ventura Collection.