THE COMMON LAW (illustrated by Charles Dana Gibson)

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1911. First Edition. . Decorative Cloth. Good Plus to Very Good/No Jacket. This is a best-selling romance novel built around an artist and his young model's attempt to resolve the issue of marriage or living together without marriage, a larger question in 1911 than today. Chambers, himself, started as a painter, a visual artist and friend of the well-known Charles Dana Gibson, this book's illustrator, before he turned to writing fantasy and horror fiction, including the now classic collection of stories, "The King Is Yellow." Then Chambers settled down to a career of best-selling romance novels, including "The Common Law," which, by the time of Chambers' death in 1933, had been the basis for three films. This copy is a First Printing, First Edition (with "1" at the end of book), with more than 50 black & white illustrations by Gibson. 5 x 7 1/2 inches, 536 pages in green, decoratively-stamped boards with white lettering and title box design on front cover and spine. Sorry, no dustjacket. Boards and spine show surface wear and scuffing, corners and spine ends show minor wear. White lettering and design on spine partially worn away. Previous owner's name neatly written on fep. Front interior hinge shows beginning of hairline crack. Text edges slightly soiled and foxed. Binding intact though loosening. All that said, book is complete, clean and, except for an occasional small stain, unmarked. A quite decent copy, worth the price for the four dozen plus Gibson illustrations.