Beg Pardon, Sir!

Philadelphia: Penn Publishing Company, 1929. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. First edition. Slight wear to the spine, still about fine in a bright and attractive, near fine dustwrapper which had previously been folded into the book with resulting creases. The crisp jacket also retains on the front flap the uncut, publisher's bookmark. The author's own copy with his ownership Signature, from a large collection of books we recently purchased from his library. A mystery listed by *Hubin*, which also lists this as the basis for a 1929 silent film directed by Walter Lang, the film may have been abandoned during production because of the advent of sound technology, as no record of the film's release seems to exist. Kauffman was born and lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, although he also maintained homes in Switzerland and Bath, Maine. After graduating from Harvard in 1900, he wrote dozens of stories, mysteries, children's books, and non-fiction titles. He was the editor of the Bangor, Maine *Daily News* from 1941-1947. His novel *The House of Bondage* was widely praised, specifically by Emma Goldman, as the first serious attempt to explore the problem of women and prostitution. Wonderful jacket art by Charles Hurgens.