279 pp, 9 1/2" H. Black cloth, gilt and orange lettering/decoration on spine and front board, top edge red. B&w pictorial endpapers, 28 b&w plates, including frontispiece (all present), plus additional b&w decorations (head/tailpieces) throughout the text. Many pages as yet unopened. A collection of fantasy short stories, including: The Potion of Lao-Tsze; The City of Philosophers; The Demon Pope; The Dumb Oracle; The Claw; Alexander the Ratcatcher; Madam Lucifer; The Talisman; The Elixir of Life; The Poet of Panopolis; Pan's Wand; A Page from the Book of Folly; The Bell of Saint Euschemon; The Philosopher and the Butterflies; Truth and her Companions; The Poison Maid; etc. Very light browning and some splitting in paper on inside hinges - holding firmly, light toning to pages, half-title page has moderate browning with outline of illustration on front pastedown, free endpapers have very light browning from boards, four very tiny stains at bottom corner margin of illustration page opposite page 216, moderate browning to fore-edge and bottom of text block; wrinkling, wear and very small tears at bottom of spine; some wear at top of spine (with some light wrinkling) and also some wear at corner of boards, minor scuff mark on top of text block, very light edge wear to boards.