The Stickit Minister and Some Common Men, by S.R. Crockett. Signed Illustrated edition, limited to 350 copies

Samuel Rutherford Crockett (1860–1914), known in print as S.R. Crockett, was a Scottish novelist celebrated for his tales of adventure and historical fiction, often set in the rural southwest of Scotland. Born in Galloway and raised by his grandparents, he later studied at the University of Edinburgh and briefly worked as a minister before committing to a literary career.

Crockett gained popularity in the 1890s with a series of novels that combined local Scottish settings with dramatic storylines and a strong sense of place. His works, such as The Raiders and The Grey Man, are rich in landscape and atmosphere, drawing on folklore, regional history, and personal memory.

The Stickit Minister and Some Common Men, first published in 1893, is a collection of short stories rooted in the lives of ordinary people in rural Scotland. A 'Stickit Minister' is defined in the book as "a probationer who has failed from some cause or other to be ordained." This particular edition—published in 1894 by T. Fisher Unwin—is the eighth edition, but more notably, it is the first illustrated and large paper edition,.

The book captures the moral struggles, quiet dignity, and sometimes humorous circumstances of working-class Scots, with the title story telling of a young man who gives up his chance to become a minister to care for a dying brother. The collection is deeply regional, drawing on Crockett’s Galloway heritage, and is prefaced by a heartfelt poem from Robert Louis Stevenson, who admired Crockett’s writing. 

The Stickit Minister and Some Common Men, by S.R. Crockett. With a Prefatory Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Eighth and Illustrated edition.

Published by T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1894. Signed by the Author. Limited to 350 copies, of which 250 copies were for England. Eighth and lllustrated edition (First edition thus). An attractive large paper volume.

A very good light brown cloth hardback with gilt thistle and bird design framing a cream and gilt illustrated panel to the front. The covers have light wear and bumping. Endpapers with some light spotting. Soundly bound.

The text is bright and clean throughout and the plates are well-presented and clear. All plates as called for. There is a Robert Louis Stevenson poem printed in facsimile, alongside the printed text as a preface. With gilt top edge and rough cut vertical and lower edges. Some light speckling to vertical edge. With previous owner's pencil inscription to first free endpaper and some additional pencil annotations to the Illustrations Content pages, where they have identified the various artist's involved. An attractive volume.

Text in English.

xxiv + (1) + 290pp + numerous illustrations comprising full page plates and decorated chapter opening initials/decoration. The frontispiece is a sepia toned photogravure with tissue guard.

Dimensions: approximately 270mm  x 203mm x 51mm.

Weight: Approximately 1619g (unpacked).