This is the hardcover edition limited to 750 copies and signed by the legendary illustration historian Walt Reed.

The classic 1978 monograph on this pen & ink artist (1880-1921). The plentiful illustrations are presented chronologically and represent his best work. Compiler Walt Reed wrote the Foreword and "How Coll Worked." The introduction (reprinted from Century Magazine, 1922) is a tribute by Coll's art editor and mentor, J. Thomson Willing.

Long out of print.

From the publisher:

Coll's magic was two-fold. He used the medium of pen and ink in a virtuoso manner that few other artists have ever approached. His sparkling blacks and a limitless repertoire of pen strokes were capable of expressing every nuance of the forms he drew.

However, it was Coll's imagination that imparted the real magic in his work. No matter what subject matter he was called upon to illustrate, his interpretation was always original and unusual.

His editors, recognizing and encouraging this special trait, assigned him stories that emphasized his talent. His drawings were to be a perfect counterpart for the fiction of authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Sax Rohmer, Talbot Mundy and Edgar Wallace.

Unfortunately, Coll died young, in 1921. Like many other illustrators of his era, he has been forgotten, except by a few artists who had clipped and filed reproductions of his work. Many of those clippings, now dog-eared after years of handling, have been reproduced in this book. Others have been combed from bound copies of old periodicals. This volume has been compiled to preserve Coll's pictures in a more permanent record and to inspire those who have not yet discovered his unique artistry.