August 2007

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Descriptions copyright © Mark Sutcliffe 2007.

	Carr, John Dickson. THE CASE OF THE CONSTANT SUICIDES. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1941. First edition. No d/w. Very good (slight bump to foot of spine, occasional foxing). £95
	Hollywood association copy Chandler, Raymond. THE LADY IN THE LAKE. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1944. First edition, third printing. Thinner than the first printing, the jacket using the same front panel and spine illustration. Very good plus in a good plus dust-wrapper (a few minor marks to cloth; wrapper somewhat dusty on the white back panel, chipped to corners and head of spine, lacking an inch and a half from the spine foot, and with a thin strip of clear archival tape on the verso). An extremely scarce printing, not seen by Bruccoli, this particular copy is remarkable in that it carries numerous ownership stamps not only of Chandler's Hollywood agent, 'H.N. Swanson', but also of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library. It also carries the remains of a label on the front free end-paper which reads 'Please return to script department' above an MGM logo. There are a few small pencil notations throughout the text. The MGM movie was released in 1947, with Robert Montgomery taking the role of Marlowe. A great association copy. £450
	Rare proof Chandler, Raymond. PLAYBACK. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1958. First edition (preceding the US edition by three months). UNCORRECTED PROOF. Yellow wrappers with title, author and publisher to upper wrapper, and title and publisher to spine. One of probably ten copies. This copy differs from the Kent State University copy in that it does not have a printed label carrying publication details affixed to the upper wrapper; that copy was probably sent out for review, whereas this copy was almost certainly retained and used by the publishers as it carries a few marks and corrections, including a direction to the printer on page 37. Very Good (slant to spine from being read; slight tanning to spine; on close examination it appears that tape has been removed from the head and tail of the spine, and that these areas have been archivally strengthened and re-coloured). The proof is housed in a black cloth chemise and deluxe tan leather slip-case by 'R. Patron of Hollywood, Ca.', lettered and lined gilt, with five raised bands to the spine. A beautiful presentation of a rare and important item. £1,250
	Chase, James Hadley. THE FLESH OF THE ORCHID. London: Jarrolds, no date [1948]. First edition. Very good in dust-wrapper (head of spine and corners bumped; jacket with a few internal tape repairs, and a neatly repaired closed crease-tear to the lower left corner of the front panel). Follow-up to 'No Orchids for Miss Blandish'. £25
	Introducing Hercule Poirot Christie, Agatha. THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES. New York: John Lane, 1920. First edition. No d/w. With the ownership inscription of Ellery Queen to the half-title: "Barnaby Ross / Ellery Queen". This is a clean, very good copy of a fragile book. There is some light rubbing and a little marking and wear to the cloth, and a few small foxing spots to the spine. Three pages mid-way through the book have been replaced (one was missing, two were damaged) with pages of identical paper stock from a very early printing (you'd need to be Hercule Poirot to spot them). The New York edition was published before the end of September, 1920, four months before the January 26, 1921 London edition. Extremely scarce in the original cloth. £3,750
	Cronin, A.J. THE STARS LOOK DOWN. London: Gollancz, 1935. First edition. Very good in near very good dust-wrapper (minuscule previous owner's name and date to front free endpaper; wrapper showing creasing, a few chips, closed tears and some archival tissue tape to verso). Scarce in d/w. £150
	Doyle, Arthur Conan. THE VALLEY OF FEAR. New York: Doran, 1914. First edition (preceding the British edition). No d/w. About very good, solid copy with clean pages and illustrations (boards a little dusty, edges and corners slightly bumped and worn). £35
	Ford, Lesley. THE BODY IN THE TURL by David Frome. London: Longmans, 1935. First British edition, second printing in first issue dust-wrapper showing '7/6' on flap. Very good in a good dust-wrapper (name and date to front free endpaper; the wrapper has a few chips and is missing the lower left quarter of the spine panel, but a photocopy laid loosely beneath 'completes' the loss). An exceptionally scarce title, rare in dust-wrapper. £150
	Ford Lesley. MR. PINKERTON HAS THE CLUE by David Frome. London: Longmans, Green, 1936. First British edition in first issue dust-wrapper showing '7/6' on flap. Good plus to near very good (a solid copy but with dampstaining to cloth, foxing to endpapers and a gift inscription to the title page) in a good dust-wrapper (lacks two inches at the spine foot with loss extending to the back panel, a chip at the head of the spine, corners missing at the lower right of the front panel and upper left of the back panel). A photocopy laid loosely beneath 'completes' the loss. Another 'never-seen' title, rare in dust-wrapper. £165
	Hammett, Dashiell. THE DAIN CURSE. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929. First edition. No d/w. Good plus to near very good (cloth dusty and marked; previous owner's name to endpapers; occasional marks). £135
	Hammett, Dashiell. THE THIN MAN. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First edition, third printing (January). No d/w. Very good plus to near fine (uneven fading to cloth, as usual, else a very clean, sharp copy). The format is identical to the first printing. £45
	Rare Hammett movie poster (Hammett, Dashiell) SATAN MET A LADY (THE MALTESE FALCON). London, 1936. Movie poster. Warner Brothers' 'Satan Met a Lady' was the second filmed version of 'The Maltese Falcon', preceding the classic Humphrey Bogart movie by five years. Publicity material for 'Satan Met a Lady' from either side of the Atlantic is exceptionally rare; this is the only survivor I am aware of. Measures approx. 17" x 22". Distributed as a loose insert (no staple holes) in the October 1st 1936 issue of 'Kinematograph Weekly'. Verso carries adverts for 'The Road to Glory', 'The General Died at Dawn' and others. One centre fold. Unused, excellent condition with no tears, chips, creases, repairs or restoration. Rare. £350
	Heyer, Georgette. FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK. London: Longmans, Green, 1935. First edition. No d/w. Very good (silver lettering on upper board turning green and partially flaked away, on spine completely flaked away leaving title, author and publisher in embossed letters only; contemporaneous name, address and date of June 1933 to front free endpaper, titles ticked and one added to list of author's previous publications; pages generally very clean and fresh with just a few minor occasional marks). The author's first mystery. A rare book. In fifteen years of collecting and trading this is the first example I have seen. £250
	Lewis, Ted. BOLDT. Michael Joseph, 1976. First edition. Very good in dust-wrapper (a little bumping to corners; some light foxing; slight wear to lower edge of d/w's front panel). Probably the author's scarcest title after 'Jack's Return Home' and 'All the Way Home and All the Night Through'. The gunman's weapon in the photograph looks suspiciously like an air rifle. £30
	Scarce story collection in Bip Pares wrapper Oppenheim, E. Phillips. ASK MISS MOTT. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1936. First edition. Short stories. Near fine in a very good dust-wrapper (light spotting to page edges; jacket with a few closed tears and tiny corner chips). Bip Pares jacket illustration. £250
	First and scarcest of the 'Pooh' books Milne, A.A. WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG. London: Methuen, 1924. First edition. Near fine in very good dust-wrapper (contemporaneous name and date to front free endpaper; wrapper a little dusty, tiny chips to spine ends, spine tanned, one short closed tear to top of back panel). A super copy with no scribbling, colouring-in, writing or other defacements that often plague these books. One of only 4,500 copies - the scarcest of the 'Pooh' quartet. £2,950
	Penny, Rupert. SEALED ROOM MURDER. London: Collins Crime Club, 1941. First edition (dated). No d/w. About very good (cloth faded and showing a few marks). Penny is exceptionally difficult to find in any edition, printing or condition. £150
	Scarce Rhode in rare wrapper Rhode, John. THE CASE OF CONSTANCE KENT. London: Bles, 1928. First edition. Near fine in a very good plus dust-wrapper (chips to head of spine, a few short closed tears held internally, light tanning to spine, else clean and crisp). Very scarce in d/w. £250
	One of only 300 copies Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. London: Bloomsbury, 1998. First edition. UNCORRECTED PROOF. One of only 300 copies. Spine square with no visible crease, pages tight, read once if at all. Very good plus to near fine (small stain to right edge of upper wrapper and fore-edge, crease to upper corner of first 24 pages). Very scarce. £950
	Stout, Rex. FOREST FIRE. London: Faber, 1934. First British edition. Very good in price-clipped dust-wrapper (light foxing; wrapper somewhat dusty with a few chips, corner loss to head of the spine taking 'st' of title, a few closed tears and some internal archival tissue tape). Stout's third novel, preceding the appearance of Nero Wolfe. Extremely scarce in the British first. £350
	'Daily Beast' first state wrapper Waugh, Evelyn. SCOOP. London: Chapman and Hall, 1938. First edition. First issue ('a' instead of 'as' on pp.88) in extremely scarce first state d/w with the 'Daily Beast' masthead which was withdrawn shortly after publication. Very good plus to near fine in price-clipped dust-wrapper (a few tiny spots to page edges; wrapper lightly chipped at the extremities with a few internally held closed tears). No fading to the red spine panel. £1,750
	Witting, Clifford. LET X BE THE MURDERER. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947. First edition. Near fine in a very good dust-wrapper (slight foxing to page edges; d/w with a few closed tears, creasing to top of lower panel, and some internal archival tape repair). £65

 

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