The Dance of Death. Valse Characteristique. Composed by W. Stuckenholz

San Francisco, CA: Published by Wm. A Frey, 1877. First edition, sheet music. 8pp. Large 4to. Pictorial wrappers (with original photograph affixed to front cover) printed green, red and blue, with decorated double-rule border, VG, with some wear. The spine is notched (where once bound), front cover is quite foxed, but albumen print photograph is fresh and clean. A very good copy of a scarce publication. First edition, sheet music. 8pp. Large 4to. "The Dance of Death: Valse Characteristique" is a musical score, composed by W. Stuckenholz, written in response to the notoriety of the book The Dance of Death, a work published earlier in 1877, in San Francisco, under the pseudonym "William Hermann." The Dance of Death has long been attributed to Ambrose Bierce and Thomas A. Harcourt, who (according to legend) wrote the work for the photographer W. H. Rulofson, whose wife had become enchanted by the salacious movements of the waltz. This score is dedicated to photographer W. H. Rulofson; printed above the title, on the front cover of the sheet music, is the dedication (as issued): "Respectfully Dedicated to/ Mr. W. H. Rulofson,/ Author of the Famous Book 'The Dance of Death'." Affixed to the front cover (as issued) is an original albumen print photograph, measuring 3 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches, which reproduces a painting; the painting depicts an elaborate Victorian ballroom filled with formally dressed couples who are dancing, and in the fore-ground is a male figure (possibly the devil) playing the violin. California State Library has a copy of this composition, also published in 1877, but it has an entirely different cover design, which does not have the photographic image, nor is it dedicated to W. H. Rulofson; Not in Levy Collection at JHU