No. 0006 · 1895
Black Spirits & White: A Book of Ghost Stories
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The story
An 1895 collection of supernatural tales by American architect and writer Ralph Adams Cram.
Black Spirits & White explores the atmosphere of haunted places and unsettling encounters in stories associated with the late Victorian ghost-story tradition. Cram, later better known for his Gothic Revival architecture, brought a strong interest in mood and historical setting to his fiction. The volume is a notable example of American supernatural literature from the end of the nineteenth century.
Details
- Date
- 1895
- Publisher
- Stone & Kimball, Chicago
- Binding
- illustrated original publisher's binding, tan spine, green-and-tan repeating panel decoration
- Condition
- Original patterned green-and-cream/tan publisher boards with tan cloth spine; owner photographs show surface abrasion/loss especially on the lower spine. John W. Knott (ABAA specialist), responding 19 Oct 2026 to ten owner photos, commented that it 'appears to have issues with insect tracking to the spine panel.' This is a preliminary photo-based opinion, not a confirmed cause or evidence of active infestation. Rubbed board edges/corners; patterned green endpapers; top edge gilt; untrimmed/deckled other edges. Owner reports hinge good and boards attached. Postscript and publisher ads pictured; full collation unverified.
