COLLINS, Wilkie. The Moonstone. A Romance. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1868. 3 vols. First edition, first state, 8vo (182 x 116mm.) Titles. (Lacking half-titles and advertisements, corner creases, occasional minor soiling, slight corner loss to pp.93-95 of vol. 2, small burn mark to p.211 of vol. 2.) Contemporary red half morocco over marbled paper-covered boards (extremities rubbed, lower joint splitting at top of vol. 3, text-block slightly shaken to vol. 1 and with upper hinge weakened). Note: all volumes in the first state. Volume 1 with pp.10 and 11 numbering transposed, volume 2 with ‘treachesrously’ on p.129, and volume 3 with the broken bracket at end of title. Considered one of the forerunners of the modern detective novel. [Sadleir 598; Wolff 1368] (3).