THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA (Prepublication presentation copy from the author)

First Edition: [I-II] blank; [i] half-title; [ii] blank; [iii] title; [iv] blank; [v]-vi PREFACE:
A CONAN DOYLE January, 1902.; [viii] blank; [157-8] blank; pages, without the printed paper wrappers of the published version, contemporary dark blue cloth which is unevenly faded, the pages are browning in the margins but otherwise are in very good condition.

Presentation inscription at the head of the title page reads, 'Stewart P Leckie, from A Conan Doyle, Jan 14th 1902. Ashdown.' Doyle's second wife was Jean Leckie and Stewart Leckie was her younger brother.

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle)  'Family life; In 1885 Doyle married Louisa (sometimes called "Touie") Hawkins (1857–1906). She was the youngest daughter of J. Hawkins, of Minsterworth, Gloucestershire, and the sister of one of Doyle's patients. Louisa had tuberculosis. In 1907, the year after Louisa's death, he married Jean Elizabeth Leckie (1874–1940). He had met and fallen in love with Jean in 1897, but had maintained a platonic relationship with her while his first wife was still alive, out of loyalty to her. Most of Doyle's family including his mother were aware of the relationship, but it appears to have remained unknown to Louisa. Jean outlived her husband and died during wartime on 27 June 1940.

'Doyle served as a volunteer physician in the Langman Field Hospital at Bloemfontein between March and June 1900, during the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899–1902). Later that year, he wrote a book on the war, The Great Boer War (which went through seventeen impressions), as well as a short work titled The War in South Africa: Its Cause and Conduct, in which he responded to critics of the United Kingdom's role in that war, and argued that its role was justified. The latter work was widely translated, and Doyle believed it was the reason he was knighted (given the rank of Knight Bachelor) by King Edward VII in the 1902 Coronation Honours. He received the accolade from the King in person at Buckingham Palace on 24 October of that year.'

Green & Gibson: A Bibliography of A. Conan Doyle, first revised edition March 2000, B3a (pages 256/7), 'Published 16 January 1902: 250,000 copies. 6d., describes the first issue in paper covers. 'The author wrote the pamphlet in a very short time using extracts from The Great Boer War......the enterprise was conceived on 7 January 1902: 'It was on January 9 that I was able to begin my task. Upon 17th January I had finished it.' In fact he had written to Reginald Smith suggesting a sixpenny pamphlet on 20 November 1901; the draft was completed by 17 December and it was published on 16 January 1902.'

Thus the present copy is a prepublication presentation copy. Perhaps the blue cloth binding is a publisher's trial.