POLIDORI, John William. The Vampyre; A Tale. (FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS - 1819)

AUTHOR: POLIDORI, John William.

TITLE: The Vampyre; A Tale.

PUBLISHER: London: for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1819.

DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, earliest obtainable issue with the preface unaltered and set in 24 lines rather than 23 and containing the commentary suggesting improprieties regarding "two sisters as the partakers of his revels", half-title present, pp.xxv+[i](blank)+[27]-84, 8vo., bound in the original gray paper wrappers, entirely uncut as issued.

CONDITION: Spine repaired/replaced, inner hinges reinforced, uncut as issued, occasional mild foxing but largely clean and bright.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Polidori, Lord Byron's personal physician, accompanied him into exile and was present at the Chateau near Geneva on the evening in 1816 when, after recounting German ghost stories, Byron suggested that each of those present should compose a supernatural tale. This was the occasion that gave rise to Mary Shelley's supernatural classic, Frankenstein, and to Polidori's The Vampyre - a much inferior work, but still celebrated as the first vampire-gothic work in English, and extremely popular in its time (partly, no doubt, because it first appeared as the work of Byron).