The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale

Speculative element: the Master apparently dies and returns to life several times in the novel, and it is revealed that this is a secret art he learned in India. Before book publication, this novel was serialized in Scribner's Magazine, Novembwr 1888-October 1889.

• US ed., hardcover, illustrated 1st ed. of the novel as a book, simultaneous with others or nearly so (The serial concluded in Scribner's Magazine for October, published in London as well as New York during the last week of September.)
• "Author's Edition" (Not found at Library of Congress.) WorldCat library records report this both with and without ({{OCLC| 7979230}}) report of illustrations, which implies both the hardcover and the paper covers.
• Publication date (inferred) and price from newspapers: • "Books Received", NY Times 1889-09-23 p2 (illustrated, cloth) • "First Edition Exhausted Before Publication"; "Author's Edition" (advertisement of this book alone), Chi. Tribune 1889-09-28 p13: "With ten full-page Illustrations by William Hole. 12mo., cloth., $1.25; paper (without Illustrations), 50 cents." The latter listing appears also in a monthly magazine with the same publication date, The Literary World (Boston)
• HathiTrust Digital Library provides full view of one copy without any cover, which credits the illustrations (title page) and lists them on unnumbered page [ix], List of Illustrations (10, frontispiece and 9 plates not included in the pagination).
  
  In this reproduction the plates appear to be signed variously "Wm Hole" or "WHole", and some signed clearly (Rhodes) or otherwise by an engraver. The 10 illustrations are all of those in the 12-part serial, from the same publisher (see the parent novel record).