Lot 5: The Red Republic. 1895.

The Red Republic. 1895.Subtitled "A Romance of the Commune" and self-promoted by Chambers with a stern, rifle-toting female separatist, "The Red Republic" was described by the New York Press at the time of its release as being "wonderfully vivid and graphic" with Chambers' prose haled as "little short of genius." Even the New York Times noted that the Republic "abounds with action." However, this title suffered from the ignoble fate of being released the same year as "The King is Yellow"-a collection of macabre short stories connected by the theme of a book that drives those who read it insane-a book thatis considered to be one of the most important collection of American supernatural tales along with the works of Poe and Lovecraft. As a result, "The Red Republic" became little more than another title in Chambers' bibliography. At the age of twenty, Chambers became a student at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and the Art Students' League, a classmate of Charles Dana Gibson. Chambers would continue his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and at Academie Julian in Paris, displaying his output at the Salon as early as 1889. Upon returning to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth and Vogue. Then, for reasons unknown, Chambers devoted his time to writing. A popular author of historical romances, Chambers-by some estimates-was one of the most successful authors of the period, with a handful of his novels achieving bestseller status.
ROBERT WILLIAM CHAMBERS (1865-1933)

12 x 15 7/8 in./30.6 x 40.2 cm

1895.0

A-/ Slight tears and stains at edges.