Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (1864-1941)
1909 handwritten manuscript. "The Hollow Needle By Maurice LeBlanc. (This English) translation (of his) manuscript (was) written for his daughters Lilian Isabel and Carolyn Louise, in commemoration of Christmas Day 1909".
It would have taken the better part of a year to translate, construct and bind this into a book which makes this December 25th 1909 A. D. Smith translation the first English translation. Prior to the discovery of this book it was believed that The Hollow Needle was first translated into English in 1910 by Alexander Teixeira De Mattos.
The illustrations were cut from the earlier published French book and glued into this handcrafted book. This book was a handwritten Leblanc family heirloom. It was the personal property of Maurice Leblanc until he gifted it to his two daughters in 1909. It's line of inheritance is laid out on the title page: it was to be passed on to the descendants of either daughter. As of 2021, the sole heir to the Maurice Leblanc Estate is a granddaughter: the only living child of his son and having no legal claim.
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