STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS. The Body Snatcher. Frontispiece and 3 illustrations. 24mo, publisher's violet cloth stamped in dark purple, spine slightly darkened with mild rubbing to tips; ownership signature in pencil to front flyleaf; advertisements at end; cloth chemise and 1/4 morocco slipcase. Provenance: The Forbes Collection. First edition in book form. Published as #2 of Merriam's "Violet Series" books. The story first appeared in the Christmas [!] number of Pall Mall Magazine in 1884. Written in June 1881, it was originally intended to be published in the Cornhill Magazine, but was "laid aside in a justifiable disgust, the tale being horrid" (Prideaux, 131). No separate book edition appeared in England until 1906. Source for the 1945 film starring Boris Karloff. Beinecke, 608. New York: Merriam, (1895)