Masquerade by Kit Williams - 1980

New York: Schoken Books, 1980. Third printing. Hardcover. Fine/very good. "Within the pages of this book there is a story told of love, adventures, fortunes lost, and a jewel of solid gold. To solve the hidden riddle, you must use your eyes, and find the hare in every picture that may point you to the prize." The book that set off a nationwide treasure hunt and a scandal. A beautifully illustrated volume with clues to the location of the treasure the author had buried somewhere in Britain. Three years after the book was published, the hare was located by a man called Ken Thomas. Six years after that 'Ken Thomas' was revealed as a fraud: he was actually Dugald Thompson, and had located the treasure not by solving the book's riddles but by finessing information out of a former girlfriend of Kit Williams. The golden hare itself was sold at Sotheby's in 1988 for £31,900 to an anonymous buyer and then dropped out of sight until 2009, when a BBC documentary briefly reunited Williams with the jewel. It was last seen at the Victoria and Albert museum, where it was displayed as part of the British Design exhibition in 2012. This 1980 printing is in great shape. There is some light sun fading along edges. TIght binding, sharp corners, clear and crisp paging with no markings, writing, bent pages, or soiling. Jacket is in nice shape with light edge/corner wear and rub/scuff,. There is a small chip at top spine edge and a 1/2" closed tear at back bottom edge. Not price clipped. In protecttive sleeve to further preserve. This is the 3rd printing of the first American edition.