SLEIGHT OF HAND, Edwin T. Sachs, "Second, and Greatly Enlarged, Edition" for Sale

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SLEIGHT OF HAND, Edwin T. Sachs, "Second, and Greatly Enlarged, Edition" For Sale

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SLEIGHT OF HAND, Edwin T. Sachs, "Second, and Greatly Enlarged, Edition":
$150.00

If you have questions about the condition of this item, please feel free to contact me via well before the listing ends.Descriptions will be kept to a minimum.I will not be trying to list all defects, but if I notice a major defect, I will try to point it out.
Note: Statements of editions and dates in my listings should not be regarded as conclusive. In many, or even most, cases, it isn't possible to make definitive statements on such matters. For instance, if a book says 1879 on the title page, it may have been published in a different year, like 1878. And even if 1879 is widely regarded as the date of the "first edition," that does not necessarily mean that a specific example with that date is a first edition.
You are offerding on:
One copy of Sleight of Hand, by Edwin Sachs, L. Upcott Gill. The publication date of the second edition is generally considered to be 1885, but I think this is a later printing. I wrote the following (the wording in boldface) about this copy on one of my blogs many years ago:

I recently obtained a copy of the second edition ofSleight of Hand, by Edwin Sachs, or so I fondly thought. However, tonight I noted two things about it. The “Preface to the Second Edition,” though it bears the initials E.S., doesnotbear the lines of type: “London, / April, 1885.” However, from Google Books it is clear that text is present in at least one version (see Google Books).

So, I suppose my copy is a later printing of the second edition. However, it is not that simple. The first three leaves (not including the front free-endpaper) appear to be separate from the rest of the book (not physically, but they are basically their own unit). I am not sure of the exact structure, and that certainly isn’t obvious. (Possibly the first three leaves consist of two conjugate leaves and a tipped-in leaf.)

After that is a signature of eight leaves. I suspect that all of the rest of the signatures are eight leaves each, through page [400]. The text proper ends on 399. Page [400] is a Theobald advertisement.

Then follows the index, which appears to be its own four-page signature. That is followed by 24 pages of advertisements. One portion, an L. Upcott Gill catalog, says “No. 2.–1886.” So, I would surmise that this book dates from 1886.

On the question of whether it is a first printing of the second (revised and enlarged) edition, I would say, probably not. However, for all I know, the sheets for all of the eight-leaf signatures, and the index, could have been printed as part of the first printing of the second edition.

Overall, this copy is in decent shape. There is some wear, and foxing, and the cover decorations are kinda dingy, and the binding is somewhat cocked, but overall this is not an example you would have to be embarrassed about.USA participants only, for shipping only to a USA destination.
California sales tax is extra, and if applicable will be added at checkout.
Shipping, packing, and handling is extra: $18.00.
Thanks for looking!
Thomas A. Sawyer