The Monkey’s Paw W.W. Jacobs

First published in Harper’s Monthly in September 1902 and collected later that year in The Lady of the Barge, W. W. Jacobs’s chilling tale “The Monkey’s Paw” has become one of the most enduring works of supernatural fiction in the English language.

Set in an isolated home on a cold and stormy night, the story turns on the arrival of a mysterious talisman said to grant three wishes. What follows is a masterfully restrained tale of fate, grief, and the peril of tampering with forces meant to lie beyond human reach. With remarkable economy and atmosphere, Jacobs builds an unsettling tension that culminates in one of the most memorable endings in all of horror literature.

About The Edition

Our edition of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs is presented as part of our Short Story series in a single state of four hundred unnumbered copies with no rights attached. The edition measures 6¼” × 9¼” and features a wood engraving by award-winning artist and printmaker Chris Pig.

It is designed by Scott Vile and printed letterpress on his Heidelberg Cylinder in Buxton, Maine on mouldmade Hahnemühle Biblio. The wood engraving is printed from the original block and the typeface is Monotype Centaur. The title page is printed in two colors, requiring two passes through the press. The volume is 24 pages and is hand-sewn into a Hahnemühle Bugra wrapper with flaps by Nicoline Meyer in Hudson, New York and features a letterpress printed cover label. It is signed by the printer and wood engraver.

A Note on the Typography

The text is set in Monotype Centaur, a graceful roman typeface designed by Bruce Rogers and inspired by the fifteenth-century letterforms of Nicolas Jenson. Celebrated for its quiet elegance and balanced proportions, Centaur has long been associated with fine press printing and literary works of enduring merit. Its humanistic character and unhurried rhythm on the page complement the restrained, atmospheric prose of W. W. Jacobs’s “The Monkey’s Paw,” allowing the tension of the story to unfold naturally while maintaining a sense of classical dignity and timelessness.

About the Author

Walter Stoneman, for James Russell & Sons bromide print, circa 1916. National Portrait Gallery, London.

W.W. Jacobs

W. W. Jacobs (William Wymark Jacobs, 1863–1943) was an English author best known for his classic supernatural tale “The Monkey’s Paw.” Born in Wapping, London, where his father managed a dock along the River Thames, Jacobs drew inspiration from maritime life in many of his early stories. He began writing while working as a clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank and achieved literary success with his first major collection, Many Cargoes (1896), which allowed him to become a full-time writer. Although much of his work was humorous in tone, his enduring reputation rests on “The Monkey’s Paw,” first published in Harper’s Monthly in 1902 and widely regarded as one of the most famous short stories of supernatural horror.

About the Collaborators

Chris Pig

Chris Pig is a British artist and printmaker known for his intricate wood engravings and relief prints that draw on the visual language of nineteenth-century illustration. Working primarily in wood engraving and linocut, his prints are characterized by dense cross-hatching, bold black-and-white contrasts, and richly narrative compositions. His work, inspired by the traditions of Victorian engravers and satirists such as William Hogarth, has been widely exhibited and collected internationally.

Please note: This edition is not included as part of Lifetime Subscriptions.

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“The Monkey’s Paw” fits inside our Short Story Series Clamshell Enclosure, which holds 5-6 titles from the series. Order them together and save on shipping.

Introductory Price: $65
Price will increase to $75 on June 1, 2026.

NOTE: The book is now sold out. The clamshell can be ordered on its own.

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