LOVECRAFT, H[OWARD] P[HILLIPS]. The Shunned House. Athol, Mass.: The Recluse Press, 1928. 8vo, original stapled stiff brown wrappers, typed publisher's label to front wrapper, minor wear to edges, staples rusted, rear wrapper grease-soiled (slightly affecting last two leaves of text); short tears in margins of 4 leaves. FIRST EDITION, EXTREMELY RARE VARIANT ISSUE, with a typed copyright cancel "@ 1937 R.H. Barlow" pasted over the Cook copyright on verso of title page. In 1934 Barlow received an estimated 225 usable sheets of Lovecraft's first book of fiction from the original printing of 300 copies. Of these it is speculated that as few as 7 copies were cased in various bindings or given stapled wrappers, the remainder of copies distributed to the very small Lovecraft circle as loose sheets. August Derleth acquired the remaining 150 sheets from Barlow (then Lovecraft's literary executor) in the early 1950s. He distributed them (after trimming to excise some of the wear incurred from their storage under Barlow's binding table) with an Arkham copyright label, first as unbound sheets, then in 1961 bound in black cloth uniform with other Arkham titles. While the issue of the present copy is not described in any of the standard sources, it conforms most closely with Currey's designation "1b" of copies distributed by Barlow and must be relatively very early in the priority of circulation of this important debut. Copies of this bibliographic curiousity are almost unknown on the market. Currey, pg.325.