This is The Mask of Cthulhu (1958), one of two explicitly Cthulhu Mythos collections by Derleth published under his name at Arkham House (the other is the superior, but not by much, The Trail of Cthulhu, 1962).

After all these years, I’m still trying to figure Derleth out. He obviously knew Mythos stories would sell, and Lovecraft Mythos stories in particular (hence the five or so volumes of “posthumous collaborations” Derleth published at Arkham House). But his own Mythos tales feel so half-hearted. They lean into some of Lovecraft’s worst tendencies (particularly litanies of unpronounceable names) and casually misunderstand the source material, as evidenced by the foisting of a weirdly black and white morality onto a cosmology Lovecraft emphatically portrayed as based on meaninglessness. The stories here are hard to get through, honestly, especially when you compare them to Derleth’s really fucking fantastic horror, like “The Lonesome Place” (do yourselves a favor). And yet, our modern conception of the Mythos is largely understood through Derleth’s bored tinkering. Call of Cthulhu, the RPG, certainly owes just as much to Derleth’s half-hearted taxonomies as it does Lovecraft’s raw cosmicism. And these crummy Mythos stories really do overshadow Derleth’s really good work, almost by design. It’s weird.

Anyway, whatever about the stories. This cover by Richard Taylor is perfect in every way. The color, the typography, the big group of happy frog people enjoying a quiet moonlit evening outside. Totally perfect. I love it.