Details
POLLARD, Percival (1869-1911). Lingo Dan. Washington, D.C.: Neale Publishing Company, 1903.
8o. Original gilt lettered cloth (some dust soiling and light staining, hinges starting).
FIRST EDITION, RARE. "The earliest American murderer in a sustained series of shorts ... Besides being a ruthless and cold-blooded killer, Lingo Dan was a thief, hobo, confidence man, and patriot -- a strange mixture... the author wrote: 'Here's my 1903 book, which, after all, is but the assembling of certain ideas that began 10 years ago with me. I expect for it neither the success of Sherlock Holmes, Raffles, etc., nor yet the immunity from comparison with those gentlemen. Yet it is at least one thing the others are not: American.' The author's hopes for lasting comparison were never realized: Lingo Dan is one of the many 'forgotten men' in the literature of larceny. The historical importance, however, of this native-American criminal is considerable -- both the creator and the creation deserve a measure of immortality" (Queen's Quorum 32).
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FIRST EDITION, RARE. "The earliest American murderer in a sustained series of shorts ... Besides being a ruthless and cold-blooded killer, Lingo Dan was a thief, hobo, confidence man, and patriot -- a strange mixture... the author wrote: 'Here's my 1903 book, which, after all, is but the assembling of certain ideas that began 10 years ago with me. I expect for it neither the success of Sherlock Holmes, Raffles, etc., nor yet the immunity from comparison with those gentlemen. Yet it is at least one thing the others are not: American.' The author's hopes for lasting comparison were never realized: Lingo Dan is one of the many 'forgotten men' in the literature of larceny. The historical importance, however, of this native-American criminal is considerable -- both the creator and the creation deserve a measure of immortality" (Queen's Quorum 32).