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TBCL The Book Collector's Library - Mystery High Spots - Spring - 2011

IT'S A MYSTERY!

100 CORNERSTONES OF MYSTERY & DETECTION

A Notable Selection 

 

From The Grandfather Of Detection & The First Crime Narrative.

1829 Haycraft Queen Cornerstone. VIDOCQ SIGNED Collection.

An Extraordinary Collection of First Editions. 10 Vols. [VIDOCQ & His Detractors.]. Incl: 1 - Four Vols. / Mémoires de Vidocq, chef de la police de sureté, jusqu'en 1827. With; 2 - Four Vols. / Mémoires d'un forçat ou Vidocq dévoilé. [Memories of a convict or Vidocq revealed] Issued By Four Different Publishing Houses* [1828-1829]. With the "Lexique d'argot", Slang Dictionary in the 4th volume. With; 3 - Two Vols. / [L'HERITIER (Louis-François)], Supplément aux Mémoires de Vidocq.  $25000

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1876 / The Great Auntie Of The Detective Novel 

Turner, Bessie A WOMAN IN THE CASE. New York: G. W. Carleton & Co., 1876. Uncommon First Edition. Blind-stamped ribbed dark green cloth elaborately stamped in gilt at the spine. 8vo., 288pp. A near fine copy of this early detective novel. Anna Katherine Green's [1846-1935] THE LEAVENWORTH CASE, [1878]; is generally considered to be the first detective novel written by a woman & largely on the strength of that, Green is variously considered as either: Mother, Grandmother, Godmother of the Detective Story. A lesser known novel, THE DEAD LETTER by Seeley Regester [pseud. of Metta Victoria Victor] was actually published earlier, in 1867 - perhaps Seeley might be viewed as Great Grandmother - which brings us back to Bessie Turner. Published 8-years before the Green book, A WOMAN IN THE CASE, is not only the second earliest known detective novel written by a woman but also the first novel to contain the word Woman in the title. Quite historical. Turner [& Seeley] deserve more credit. $450
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An Historically Important Book

Rare. 1887 First UK Edition. THE  MYSTERY OF THE HANSOM CAB

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Hume, Fergus W. [1859 -1932]. THE  MYSTERY OF THE HANSOM CAB. London: Hansom Cab Publishing Co. , 1887. First UK edition [Second Edition overall] & earliest available impression - The Seventy-Fifth Thousand. [No copy has come to auction in over 25 years] Sm. 8vo., 230pp. Original publisher's illustrated light blue-grey covers, titled & decorated in black. A very good tight copy showing minimal wear; small lower corner chip, some light edgewear, etc. contents bright & fresh. An extraordinary example of this normally very fragile book. "Ranks as the most successful Detective Story of all time" - Everyman's Dictionary of Literary Biography, 1960. Although usually described as the first UK edition, is actually the second edition of which 340,000 copies were issued in little more than a year. The exceedingly rare original first edition was published by Kemp and Boyce of Melbourne in 1886 before the London Hansom Cab Publishing Co. printings. [Acquired from the House of El Dieff in 1976] The Collector No.273, p43. Graham Greene and Dorothy Glover; Victorian Detective Fiction [Appendix], (1966). Haycraft -Queen Cornerstone. $11000 

 

Rare Inscribed H-Q 1888 - THE  MYSTERY OF THE HANSOM CAB


Hume, Fergus W. [1859 -1932]. THE  MYSTERY OF THE HANSOM CAB. London, [1888]. Rare Presentation Copy Inscribed by the author on the half title: "To / Will J. Benners / With best wishes / Fergus Hume." "Ranks as the most successful Detective Story of all time" - Everyman's Dictionary of Literary Biography, 1960. This is the Florence & Edward Kaye copy with their neat leather bookplate pasted on a panel of the chemise. Quarter red calf slipcase with 5 raised bands. [Likely acquired by the Kayes from The House of El Dieff in 1976] The Collector No.273, p43. Graham Greene and Dorothy Glover; Victorian Detective Fiction [Appendix], (1966). Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. $8500

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Goldstone Copy of this 1895 Haycraft-Queen & Queen's Quorum #19 Rarity. 

Shiel, M.P. PRINCE ZALESKI. Boston: Roberts Bros., 1895. First American Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone and Queen's Quorum title featuring the decadent Russian detective, Prince Zaleski. The Goldstone copy, with Adrian Homer Goldstone's neat bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A  bright, fresh copy with some light overall use, wear at the heel and crown of the spine and tips, discreet ink name to the front free endpaper, in decorated green cloth, gilt titles to the spine. 8vo. 207 pp. + 20 pp. of adverts, including an advertisement for the Keynotes Series. An unusually uncommon Cornerstone title. $1850 

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[The First English Detective Yellow-Back]

1851 'Waters' Rare Cornerstone Of Detection

'Waters'. [Pseudonym of William Russell]. EXPERIENCES OF A FRENCH DETECTIVE OFFICER. London: Charles H. Clarke , n.d. [1851] First Edition. William Russell authored  the Queen's Quorum #2 & Haycraft-Queen cornerstone, 1856, Recollections Of A Detective Police Officer, The Recollections of a Policeman, and Leaves from the Diary of a Law Clerk. Apparently adapted from the manuscript of Theodore Duhamel. Stories include My First Case, La Belle Tambourine, A Felon Hunt, The Shirt of Mail, Monsieur Baudrain's Niece, Jean Baptist Soult, Blondel the Millionaire. $750

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1856 'Waters' Rare Haycraft-Queen / QQ # 2, Cornerstone Of Detection

Request Photo / It's A Mystery

'Waters'. [Pseudonym of William Russell]. Waters].  RECOLLECTIONS OF A DETECTIVE POLICE-OFFICER. London J. & C. Brown & Co. 1856. Very uncommon First English edition & First Authorized Edition, preceded by an American piracy strangely in 1852. 12mo., 382pp. A very good copy. Polished half dark brown calf, gilt decorated spine, black morocco gilt-stamped label, marbled paper covered boards. Endpapers expertly reinforced. Contents clean & blemish free. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone volume of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Queen's Quorum #2, preceded only by Poe's Tales, Hubin -1994, p. 843. $1175


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From The The Father Of The Detective Novel

1897 M. Lecoq H-Q Cornerstone 

  Gaboriau, Emile. THE WIDOW LEROUGE. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1873. This is the First American Edition & First English Language Edition of: L'affaire Lerouge, [Paris:1866]. Tall 8vo., 156pp., blind embossed brick coloured cloth, gilt stamped on the upper cover & spine. A very good or better copy of this unusually scarce Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Lecoq anticipated Sherlock Holmes by 20 years. $1850

  
Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. Monsieur Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned police officer, Eugène François Vidocq (1775-1857), whose memoirs, Les Vrais Mémoires de Vidocq, mixed fiction and fact. It may also have been influenced by the villainous Monsieur Lecoq, one of the main protagonists of Féval's Les Habits Noirs book series.

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The Goldstone Copy of this High Spot

Stockton, Frank R. THE LADY, OR THE TIGER? And Other Stories. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884. First Edition of these twelve short stories collecting the author's most famous, The Lady Or The Tiger presenting its unsolved "riddle". The Goldstone copy, with Adrian Homer Goldstone's neat bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A very good or better example showing some use in 1/4 brown over gray decorated cloth, front hinge strengthened. 8vo. 201 pp. + 8 pp. of adverts. "The unsolved human dilemma therein described is classic in its drama". Merle Johnson, High Spots Of American Literature. Bleiler, The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Ellery Queen, Queen's Quorum. $425

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1906 A.K.G. Classic

Green, Anna Katherine. (Anna Katherine Green Rohlfs). THE FILIGREE BALL. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, (1903). First Edition, first state of this superbly crafted mystery by the author of the Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, The Leavenworth Case, one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and considered the 'Mother' of the detective novel. A very good or better bright, fresh copy in green decorated cloth, gilt titles to the spine, black and white frontis by C.M. Relyea. 8vo. 418 pp. + 22 pp. of adverts. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. $150

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Rare A. J. Raffles First Canadian Edition 

 

Hornung, E. W.  A THIEF IN THE NIGHT. Toronto: McLeod & Allen, (1905). First Canadian Edition, from the US sheets, of the third book in the gentleman thief, A. J. Raffles and friend and chronicler Bunny Manders, saga, the first, The Amateur Cracksman, a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Very good or better in vintage pictorial black cloth, red titles to the spine somewhat sunned. A bright, fresh copy of these classic Raffles 'escapades' by the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Black and white frontis and illustrations by Cyrus Cuneo. 8vo. 372 pp. + 4 pp. of adverts. "I think I may claim that his famous character Raffles was a kind of inversion of Sherlock Holmes, Bunny playing Watson. He admits as much in his kindly dedication." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Memories and Adventures. "Raffles is inspiration for the whole school of devil - may - care adventurers on the borderlines of the law, not least the eponymous James Bond." Ellery Queen, DSS. $150

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1906 H-Q & QQ Eugene Valmont

Barr, Robert. THE TRIUMPHS OF EUGENE VALMONT. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1906.  First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone and Queens Quorum title featuring the brilliant and eccentric French detective Eugene Valmont. A better than very good copy in pictorial cloth, (a trifle scuffed), white and black titles. 8vo. 330 pp. + 6 pp. of adverts. With 8 pp. of black and white illustrations. "These stories provide considerable ingenuity. Some of them, particularly The Absent-Minded Coterie, are tours de force which have found their place in detective anthologies." Barnes, Murder In Print. $475

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1907 "Motorized" Detection

Fox-Davies, A. C. THE MAULEVERER MURDERS London: John Lane, The Bodley Head / New York: John Lane Company, 1907. 8vo., 350pp + 18 pp ads. Original green-grey cloth pictorially decorated in black & orange. First Edition, first issue binding of this "motorized detective story" [Quayle]. An essentially fine copy, top edge stained green in a handsome black cloth open faced slipcase. Quayle's DETECTIVE FICTION shows an illustration of the motorcar-design binding on p. 85. Provenance - [The House of EL DIEFF Sept. 20th 1971]. $750

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[H-Q]  Rare Portuguese Doyle - The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes 

 

Doyle, Arthur Conan. MEMORIAS DE UM POLICIA AMADOR - Aventuras de Sherlock-Holmes. Lisbon: Livraria Avelar Machado, 1907.  First Edition of the First Sherlock Holmes book to be published in Portugal. Sm. 8vo., 187pp., quarter red calf over red boards, gilt lettered & decorated at the spine. A very good copy showing modest use of this rare edition of The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes originally published in London: 1892. Great stuff for the completist. De Waal 1486. $850 

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1907 H-Q & QQ #38 Eugene Valmont

Futrelle, Jacques. THE THINKING MACHINE. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1907. First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, Queens Quorum and Keating selection featuring the author's intellectually superior detective, Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, the 'Thinking Machine'. A near fine copy in black cloth, red titles and decorations, (previous collector's small bookplate to the front pastedown, unobtrusive bookseller's ticket affixed to the rear pastedown), with some light overall use. 8vo. 342 pp. "Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, the 'Thinking Machine is one of the most original characters in the field." Barnes, Murder In Print. $550 

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1909 Queen's Quorum # 41

 Orczy, Baroness. THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER. London: Greening & Co., Ltd., 1909. [1865-1947] - Emma Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy. Authored THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, [1905]. First edition. Blue cloth, gilt lettered to spine with pictorial device stamped on the upper cover. 8vo., 18 black and white illustration by H. M. Brock. A very good or better example showing minimum use; text block clean & free of any blemish. Among her most popular characters, The Old Man in the Corner, was a nondescript armchair detective spending much of his life in the corner of a London teashop aided & abetted by a young reporter who brings him details of crimes which baffle the police. The Old Man was featured in a series of twelve British movies from 1924, starring Rolf Leslie. Custom collectors cloth case with gilt lettered red leather labels, tabbed cloth chemise. $675

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1909 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone

Moffett, Cleveland. THROUGH THE WALL. New York: Appleton, 1909. First Edition of this Haycraft Queen Cornerstone featuring detective Paul Coquenil. A bright, fresh copy in blue cloth, (previous collector's discreet stamp to the front free endpaper), white titles and decorations. 8vo. 409 pp. + 2 pp. of adverts. Described by Ellery Queen as 'A neglected high spot'. A superior copy. $250

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Lovely 1911 H-Q & QQ # 47 Father Brown

Chesterton, G. K. THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1911.  First Edition of this Haycraft Queen, Queen's Quorum title and the first Father Brown collection. A near fine, exceptionally bright, fresh copy in red cloth, gilt titles, some very light foxing throughout. Black and white illustrations. 8vo. 356 pp. Adapted into film with Sir Alec Guinness as Father Brown. A handsome copy of this Keating and MLC 5 Dagger Classic. Superior example. $1000 

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Rare Signed 1908 H-Q Cornerstone Chesterton

Chesterton, G. K. THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY. Signed. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 1908. First Edition, first issue (lacking a period after 'G. K.' on the spine, with the publisher's initials) of this Haycraft-Queen cornerstone Signed by G. K. Chesterton on the half-title page. A bright, fresh better than very good copy in red cloth, gilt titles to the spine, black titles to the front board, some light offsetting to endpapers and minimal overall use. Small 8vo. 330 pp. + 2 pp. of adverts. A handsome copy of this MLC 5 Dagger Classic and uncommon signed. SOLD  

 

 

The First Hanaud Book

1910 H-Q Cornerstone Villa Rosa

 Mason, A. E .W. AT THE VILLA ROSE. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910. First edition. Earliest & rarest binding of medium blue cloth gilt-lettered to the spine & stamped black on the upper cover. A fine copy of the first Hanaud book showing minimal use. Contemporary neat non-authorial inscription on the ffe dated December 25th, 1910. A very nice copy. Basis for three films. [ 1920, 1930 & 1939]. H-Q [Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone] Hagen , page 266; Catalogue of Crime #1561. Custom collector's black cloth case with gilt-lettered label & lined chemise. $850

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1907 Important Bibliography & Study of 'Roguery'

Chandler, Frank Wadleigh. THE LITERATURE OF ROGUERY. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907. Small 8vo. Two Volumes. First Editions. Dark green cloth , lettered in gilt. An excellent bright set in near fine conditions showing minor use. An essential detailed study of the genre of roguery in literature at first defining the genre and then following the anti-hero throughout history. Very desirable & very uncommon. $1250  

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The Father Of Espionage & Spy Fiction / Presentation Copy 

Le Queux, William [Tufnell]. [ London 1864 -1927]. REVELATIONS OF THE SECRET SERVICE. London : F.V. White & Co. Ltd.., 1911. Presentation Copy From The Father Of The Espionage & Spy Fiction Novel. First Edition. 8vo., 312pp. Original red cloth, gilt lettered spine & upper board. A very good or better copy showing light spotting on the fore edge. Subtitled: Being The Autobiography Of Hugh Morrice, Chief Travelling Agent Of The Confidential Department Of His Britannic Majesty's Government. The Author's holograph inscription on the half-title: "With The Author's Compliments". Considered the originator of the Espiona ge story, Le Queux's work over a 20 year span from 1890 through 1910, anticipated almost every development in the genre until the works of Eric Ambler appeared. This master of novels & short stories of mystery, crime & the intentional intrigue is re puted to have been a member of the Secret Service & began his writings about secret agents largely to finance his work for British Intelligence which require much travelling & socializing with Royalty & other high ranking people. His Mysteri es Of A Great City, [1920] is a QQ [Queen's Quorum Selection]. A very uncommon title seldom offered for sale. $1500  
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1911 QQ #48 Average Jones 

Adams, Samuel Hopkins. AVERAGE JONES. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1911. First Edition. An excellent near fine or better copy of this uncommon [QQ # 48] - Queen's Quorum title. Small 8vo., 345pp., Ochre coloured cloth with floral decoration & white titles; illustrated by M. Leone Bracker [very elegant non authorial presentation dated July 1913 on the ffe.]. Short stories. $200  

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The Birth Of Naturalism In Characterization

Bentley's 1913 Haycraft -Queen Cornerstone - Excellent Example

Bentley, E. C.  TRENT 'S LAST CASE. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, N.D. [1913], First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title introducing 'gentleman sleuth' Philip Trent. A bright, fresh, just about near fine copy of what is considered the first modern mystery novel. Blue decorated cloth with some modest use, gilt titles to the spine, pictorial endpapers. Housed in a TBCL maroon cloth slipcase. 8vo. 375 pp. A handsome copy of this MLC 5 Dagger Classic. Hatchard's #34. Adapted for television and film with Michael Wilding as Philip Trent, Margaret Lockwood as Margaret Manderson and Orson Welles as Sigsbee Manderson. $450

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Two H-Q Cornerstones  /  Sherlock Holmes 1915 & 1917

 Doyle, Arthur Conan. THE VALLEY OF FEAR. Toronto: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914. First Canadian Edition of this Haycraft Queen cornerstone, printed from . the American sheets. 8vo. 320 pp. A very good or better copy in red cloth, gilt titles, with some minor shelfwear at the extremities, (previous collector's discreet tiny name to the front free endpaper). An attractive copy of Conan Doyle's last book-length Sherlock Holmes adventure and somewhat scarcer than either the American or English editions. $325

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The First Craig Kennedy Book

The American Sherlock Holmes 1914 Uncommon H-Q Mystery.

Reeve, Arthur B. THE SILENT BULLET. New York: Dodd Mead, 1912. First Edition. A near fine copy of this uncommon Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. 8vo., decorated upper cover, stamped yellow spine & cover lettering. Reeve is best known for creating the series character Professor Craig Kennedy [professor of chemistry at Columbia University], sometimes called "The American Sherlock Holmes," & his Dr Watson-like sidekick Walter Jameson, a newspaper reporter, in eighteen detective novels. The Silent Bullet is the first Craig Kennedy novel. A very nice example. DSS, Blieler pg. 232. $1250


 

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1915 Haycraft-Queen Masterpeice'

Buchan, John. THE THIRTY- NINE STEPS. Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood, 1915. First Edition. Sm. 8vo., publisher blue cloth covered boards lacking the rare dustwrapper. A very good copy showing light use. With this novel, Buchan won fame introducing spy-catcher Richard Hannay to the literature. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone Title basis for several movie adaptations, most notable Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film - likely his most famous. $975

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Scarce Queen's Quorum #62 In Original DJ

Russell, John. THE RED MARK.. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1919. First Edition of this Queen's Quorum [#62] title and the author's first collection of short stories inclusive of, The Fourth Man. A near fine copy in gray cloth, red titles in a bright, fresh better than very good dustwrapper, sunned to the spine with a chip at the heel and crown, two small chips and a closed tear to the front panel and tiny nicks at the bottom of the rear panel. 8vo. 397 pp. A handsome copy of what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called, 'the best book of short stories by any debutant since Kipling's ' Plain Tales'. $1100   

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QQ #70 Jim Hanvey Detective

Cohen, Octavus Roy. JIM HANVEY DETECTIVE. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1923. First Edition of this Queen's Quorum selection featuring the author's portly private detective, Jim Hanvey. A near fine copy in green cloth, gilt titles, unobtrusive small booksellers stamp to the front pastedown. 8vo. 283 pp. A bright, fine, fresh copy. Basis for the 1937 Phil Rosen Film by the same name. $375  

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Patricia Wentworth Rarity

Wentworth, Patricia. ((Dora Amy Dillon Turnbull). THE DOWER HOUSE MYSTERY. New York: Small, Maynard & Co., 1925. First American Edition of this classic mystery by the author of the spinster sleuth Miss Silver series. 8vo. 311 pp. A bright, fresh near fine copy in gold cloth, (tiny blemish to the rear board), green topstain, black titles and decorations lacking the rather scarce dustwrapper. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. Steinbrunner & Penzler, Encyclopedia Of Mystery And Detection. $475  

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1926 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone

Forester. C. S. PAYMENT DEFERRED. London: John Lane, 1926. First edition, First Issue. Of Forester's masterpiece of suspense. 8vo., 304pp. + 8p ads. Publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt at the spine. An essentially fine bright copy lacking the scarce dustwrapper. An exceptional Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Charles Laughton & Maureen O'Sullivan starred in the 1932 movie by the same name. [This UK edition preceded the US by 16 years]. $500
 

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1927 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone 1st 

Van Dine, S.S. (Wright, Willard Huntington). THE CANARY MURDER CASE. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927. First Edition, first issue of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone and the second Philo Vance mystery. A near fine copy in black cloth showing some light use, green titles and decorations in a very good priced-clipped second state pictorial dustwrapper showing moderate use. Adapted into film with William Powell as Philo Vance and Louise Brooks as the 'Canary'. A reasonable copy of the author's classic whodunnit. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. $450 

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1927 [QQ #67 Related] In Dustwrapper 

Train, Arthur. WHEN TUTT MEETS TUTT. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927., First edition. 8vo., 283pp. Orange cloth stamped black. A near fine fresh copy in matching orange dustwrapper showing minor use. Train's "Tutt And Mr. Tutt" is a Queen's Quorum # 67 listing. Five adventures of Ephraim Tutt neatly packaged. Dustwrapper designed by Arthur William Brown. $250



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1929 Rarity In Dustwrapper

COX, A. B. (Anthony Berkeley). THE AMATEUR CRIME. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co. 1928. First Edition of this extremely scarce Hubin listed classic Golden Age mystery by this author best known for his works written under the names Anthony Berkeley and Francis Iles including, 'The Poisoned Chocolates Case' and 'Malice Aforethought'. 8vo. 349 pp. A very good or better copy in yellow cloth, black titles to spine, in a nearly Very Good dust jacket, shallow chips to spine ends and top edge, half dollar sized chip at lower front panel, modest darkening to spine, inch closed tear at top rear panel. Published in the U.K. as, 'Mr. Priestley's Problem'. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. $850

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1929 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone In Dustwrapper

Eberhart, Mignon G. [M. G.] THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18 Garden City: Doubleday, 1929. First Edition, First Printing. 8vo., 303pp. A near fine copy in a very good dustwrapper showing moderate use; a narrow chip at the spine crown with a bit of unfortunate inking to the "RX" at the spine. An uncommon Haycraft Queen Cornerstone in dustwrapper. $675

 

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The First Book-Precursor To Simon Templar 

Charteris, Leslie. X-ESQUIRE. London: Ward Lock And Company, 1929. First Edition Thus. 8vo., 254pp. +2pp. ads. Red cloth stamped black to the spine & upper cover. Likely the 2nd printing of Charteris' first book which was published in 1927. This edition with a dated Title Page [later reprints are undated] (1st was 1927). Dated 1929 on title page; in original red cloth lettered in black. A very good or better copy. It was in his third novel, Meet The Tiger, 1928 that introduced his most famous creation - "Simon Templar - The Saint" $150

 

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1931 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone / Goldstone Copy 

Palmer, Stuart. THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER. New York: Brentano's, 1931. First Edition of the author's first mystery introducing amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers. The Goldstone copy of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone with Adrian Homer Goldstone's neat bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A very good copy in gray cloth, black titles and decorations. 8vo. 304 pp. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. $375

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In the 1932 'Golden Age Dustwrapper' 

Sykes, W. Stankey. THE HARNESS OF DEATH. New York: Dodd Meade And Company, 1932. First Edition of the author's second book. 8vo., 290pp. Green cloth stamped black, pale green endpapers, neat name on ffe. A very good copy in like dustwrapper showing modest use; a couple of small chips at the head & heel of the spine. A very uncommon Golden Age, Inspector Drury of Scotland Yard mystery. $650




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Inscribed Mason - THE HOUSE OF THE ARROW

Mason, A. E. W. THE HOUSE OF THE ARROW. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1933. An early reprint of the First Edition first published in 1924. Presentation Copy of this 'Monsieur Hanaud Mystery' inscribed by the author in black fountain pen on the front free endpaper: "Alma Lauton / from / A. E. W. Mason / Oct. 22 1936". 8vo., blue boards with black & gilt lettering. A very good example showing light use. Seldom offered signed. Lacking rare dustwrapper. $375

 

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1933 H-Q Cornerstone [James Hilton]  

 

Trevor, Glen. (James Hilton). WAS IT MURDER? New York: Harper & Brothers, 1933. First American Edition. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, published in the UK as Murder At School, by James Hilton, author of Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, under the pseudonym of Glen Trevor. Very good or better in black cloth, red titles to the spine. A bright, fresh copy of this MLC 5-Dagger Classic English thriller with Private Detective Colin Revell and Scotland Yard Detective Guthrie. 8vo. 257 pp. + a 6 pp. preview of K. T. Knoblock's, Take Up The Bodies. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Very Uncommon. Lacking the rare DJ. $350

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Sayers wrote only one non-Wimsey detective novel -- The Documents in the Case (1930) -- with "Robert Eustace." Haycraft says it is a superlative example of the medical detective story.

The Dawson Pedigree (also known as Unnatural Death). "...in the perfectly constructed detective story the questions Who? and How? are answered simultaneously at the denoument" (Howard Haycraft, Murder for Pleasure).

 

H-Q / Two Very Uncommon Dorothy Sayers Titles 1927 /1930

Sayers, Dorothy L. and Robert Eustace. THE DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1930. First Edition. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. 8vo., 288pp. Black cloth stamped orange to the spine & upper cover. A bit dusty at the top edge otherwise an exceptionally nice superior copy. MLC 4 dagger rating. Gilbert A 10.  Custom collector's black cloth case with gilt-lettered label & felt lined chemise. $2500  

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Sayers, Dorothy L. UNNATURAL DEATH. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1927. First edition, first printing, earliest binding. 8vo., 287pp. An extremely nice copy in canary yellow cloth, stamped in black to the spine & upper cover.  Front endpaper restored, contents bright & blemish free. The author's 3rd Lord Peter Whimsey novel. MLC 4 Dagger rating. Gilbert A5 published September 16th, 1927. $1250

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The Only Professor Poggioli Book

H-Q & QQ #80 Rarity in Original Dustwrapper

Hemingway. Stribling, T. S. CLUES OF THE CARIBBEES: Certain Investigations of Professor Henry Poggiali, Ph.D. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1929. First edition. 8vo., pp. 319. Decorated endpapers, maroon topstain. A fine copy in a near fine bright dustwrapper showing two small chips at the spine crown. H-Q [Haycraft-Queen] Cornerstone & QQ 80 [Queen's Quorum] title.  An extremely nice copy of an important book.  $750

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The First Lieutenant Valcour Book

Rare In Dustwrapper - 1929 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone

King, Rufus. MURDER BY THE CLOCK. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. , 1929. First Edition of this Haycraft Queen cornerstone and the first Lieutenant Valcour mystery, a French-Canadian detective attached to the NYPD. A near fine copy in black cloth, red titles, in a bright, fresh pictorial dustwrapper, showing light overall use, a thumbnail chip to the crown of the spine, minor chip at the heel and some old tape reinforcement on the verso. 8vo. 288 pp. Adapted into the 1931 film with William Boyd. A sterling copy.  $1850  

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Queen's First & Second Book - H-Q & QQ #90 Titles. 

Queen, Ellery. THE ROMAN HAT MYSTERY. A Problem in Deduction.  First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. and the authors' first Ellery Queen mystery. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1929. (Pseudonym of Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee). A bright, fresh, better than very good copy in red cloth, black and red titles and decorations with some light use and moderate fade at the edges in a fine facsimile dustwrapper of the original. 8vo. 325 pp. A handsome copy of this MLC 5 Dagger Classic. SOLD  

Queen, Ellery. THE ADVENTURES OF ELLERY QUEEN. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1934. First Edition of Queen's second book, (pseudonym of Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee), a Queen's Quorum title and the first Ellery Queen short story collection. The notable Goldstone copy with Adrian Goldstone's neat bookplate affixed to the front pastedown - acquired in the famous 1981 Goldstone sale of Mystery & Detective fiction. A bright, fresh near fine copy in illustrated black and yellow cloth with some light use, black titles to the spine in a fine facsimile dustwrapper of the original. 8vo. 357 pp. A very attractive copy.  $1250
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The First Sam Spade Book

Non Plus Ultra - The Most Wanted Mystery Of The Century - An Extraordinary Example

B.i.g  B.i.r.d  

Hammett, Dashiel. THE MALTESE FALCON. New York: 1930. First Edition. First State. A Simply Spectacular Copy In Dustwrapper. H-Q Cornerstone of Mystery & Detective Fiction. $136000

 

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Carr's important 1930 First Book & First Locked Room Mystery

Carr, John Dickson. IT WALKS BY NIGHT. New York City & London: Harper & Brothers, 1930. 8vo., 328 pp. Dark blue covered cloth with light blue lettering.. A Harper's "Sealed Mystery". Publication code "A-E" (January, 1930) on copyright page. A very good copy showing moderate use. Carr's famous first book & first 'locked room ' mystery: "had no secret entrances; the murderer was not hiding anywhere in the room; he did not go out by the window; he did not go out by the door . Yet a murderer had beheaded his victim there." $275

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Goldstone Copy / 1931 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone 

Taylor, Phoebe Atwood. THE CAPE COD MYSTERY. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1931. First Edition of the author's first book, the first 'Codfish Sleuth', Asey Mayo, mystery. The notable Goldstone copy of this Haycraft Queen Cornerstone title with Adrian Homer Goldstone's neat bookplate affixed to the front pastedown - acquired in the famous 1981 Goldstone sale of Mystery & Detective fiction. A bright, fresh, near fine copy in blue cloth, yellow titles and rules with some light overall use. Tiny, discreet bookseller's ticket to the bottom of the half-title page. 8vo. 320 pp. "Period who-dunnits recall simpler, more carefree times, and sparkle with the Yankee wit and salty idiom of Asey Mayo, a local handyman who knows something about police work and everything about everybody's business." Marilyn Stasio, Mystery Columnist, The New York Times Book Review. $750
 

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1932 Connington's Conundrum In DJ 

Connington, J. J. (Stewart, Alfred Walter). THE CASTLEFORD CONUNDRUM. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1932. First Edition of this Chief Constable Sir Clinton Driffield mystery. A very good copy in green cloth, little fade at the edges, black titles to the spine in a vintage dustwrapper, neatly price-clipped with some modest overall use and a few chips. A bright, fresh copy. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. SOLD

 

 

 

 


The First Perry Mason Book

Gardner's First & Second 1933 Book - Both Haycraft-Queen Cornerstones

Gardner, Earle Stanley. THE CASE OF THE SULKY GIRL. New York: William Morrow, 1933. First Edition, first printing of this Haycraft Queen Cornerstone title, Gardner's second book featuring Perry Mason. A bright, fresh, better than very good copy in black cloth showing some light use, a gentle bump to the upper  front board, light offsetting to the front and rear pastedowns, red titles to the spine. Adapted into film and the Emmy award-winning television series with Raymond Burr as Perry Mason and Barbara Hale as his loyal secretary, Della Street. A handsome copy of this Keating 100 Best Crime And Mystery Books title. $875 

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Nice Golden Age Mystery in Original Dustwrapper

 Jacobs, T. C. H. [pseud. Jacques Pendower]. THE KESTREL HOUSE MYSTERY. New York: The Macaulay Company, 1933. First edition of this Chief Inspector Barnard of Scotland Yard mystery. 8vo., 313pp + 2p ads. Beige cloth, stamped red, wine top stain. A near fine copy in a very good, bright dustwrapper showing modest use, neat name on ffe. A very nice Golden Age example. $350

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Classic Thin Man Authentically Signed By Hammett

Hammett, Dashiel. THE THIN MAN. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Edition, Third Printing. SIGNED & DATED, 1934 by Hammett on the front pastedown. 8vo., greenish cloth cover with orange outlining & navy blue mask. A very good or better copy in a supplied facsimile dustwrapper for display. Covers a bit mottled but quite clean, front endpaper & first blank professionally restored. The copyright page states: 3rd Printing January, 1934 - The same month as the First Edition, First Printing. An excellent copy of this high spot of 20th Century Detective Fiction & the basis for the CLASSIC 1934 motion picture starring William Powell & Myrna Loy as Nick & Nora Charles. Hammett has signed boldly in blue/black fountain pen on the bias. Would that it were a signed 1st with an upper five figure price tag. As a mere 3rd, well, who would want such a trifling in their distinguished collection. We would. Authentic Signed Dashiel Hammett books come along only once in a blue moon. Red Custom Clamshell Protective Case with the Thin Man silhouetted in blind on the side; titling in gilt at the spine.  $5875 

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Nice Golden Age Mystery in Original Dustwrapper

 Leroux, Gaston. THE MACHINE TO KILL. New York: The Macaulay Company, 1935. First American Edition of this early scientific mystery/thriller by the author of, The Phantom of the Opera. 8vo. 254 pp. Near fine in red cloth, (unobtrusive tiny stain to the bottom of the rear endpaper), black titles in a bright, fresh price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper showing some overall use and edgewear. A very nice copy. $225

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Excellent Golden Age Mystery In Original Dustwrapper

RARE BIBLIOMYSTERY IN DJ

Wells, Carolyn. MURDER IN THE BOOKSHOP. New York: Lippincott, 1936. An exceptionally nice copy in dustwrapper of this much sought after Classic Bibliomystery. "In the latest Fleming Stone detective novel, murder stalks among the rare and valuable volumes of a shop that caters to book collectors."  Murder and Mayhem. A rare $100,000 book disappears... a copy of Taxation Laws of Great Britain and U.S.A. , owned, inscribed, signed twice & annotated by Button Gwinnett... Not bad. $2950

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Starrett's Copy Of This QQ Cornerstone Title

Allngham, Margery. MR. CAMPION: CRIMINOLOGIST. Signed. New York: Doubleday Doran / Crime Club, 1937. First Edition, preceding the British edition, of this Queen's Quorum title, collecting seven Campion cases. The Florence and Edward Kaye copy, their neat leather bookplate affixed to the front pastedown with Vincent Starrett's bookplate just above and Starrett's ownership signature to the half-title page. A near fine copy in black cloth, minor crease to the front and back board, red titles to the spine in a bright, fresh correctly priced pictorial dustwrapper with some old tape. $1375

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1938 Peter Cheney 1st in Dustwrapper 

Cheyney, Peter. THE URGENT HANGMAN. London: Collins, 1938. First Edition introducing the author's hardboiled, private detective, Slim Callaghan. A near fine copy in orange cloth, (previous collector's discreet name, tiny bookseller's ticket, to the front free endpaper), black titles to the spine in a bright, fresh, near fine indeed pictorial dustwrapper showing some light use. Rare as such. 8vo. 252 pp. + 4 pp. of adverts. $450

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Nice Early Blake in Excellent Dustwrapper

Blake, Nicholas. (Cecil Day-Lewis). THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1940. First Edition of the sixth Nigel Stangeways mystery, amateur sleuth with a talent for solving mysterious murders, published in Britain as, Malice in Wonderland. A near fine copy in green and navy cloth, green titles, the text block unblemished, in a very good indeed bright, fresh pictorial dustwrapper showing modest use, some light soiling to the back panel, minor dampstain on the verso. A handsome copy in the scarce original dustwrapper. $225  

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Inscribed Presentation 'Saint'.

Charteris, Leslie. THE SAINT GOES WEST. Garden City: Doubleday Crime Club, 1942. True First Edition preceding the UK edition. Excellent presentation copy. Inscribed by the author in black fountain pen on the front free endpaper to his favourite wine merchant: "To Julian E. Blum / our favourite purveyor / of beautiful fluids with / our profound esteem / Sincerely / Leslie Charteris / and [trademark 'saint' stick man figure toasting with a wine glass] 26 August 42". A near fine example in a very good or better dustwrapper that has been treated kindly to a bit of archival restoration at the edges. Delightful copy - Cheers. $1500

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1942 Wilde - Lovely Copy in DJ 

Wilde, Percival.. TINSLEY'S BONES. New York: Random House, 1942. First Edition of this Coroner Slocum mystery. A near fine copy in beige cloth, navy titles and decorations, blue topstain, in a bright, fresh neatly price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper showing some light use. 8vo. 281 pp. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. $85

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1942 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone 

Irish, William. (Woolrich, Cornell). PHANTOM LADY. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1942. First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. The Florence and Edward Kaye copy with their neat leather bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A very good copy in blue cloth, black titles to the spine. 8vo. 291 pp. Adapted into the 1944 noir film of the same name. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Barnes, Murder In Print. The first Woolrich book under the William Irish name. $225

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Inscribed by Forester. His Mysterious Mystery. Rare Thus.

Forester, C. S. THE BEDCHAMBER MYSTERY. Toronto: S.J. Reginald Saunders, 1944. Inscribed. True First & Only Edition. 8vo. 70pp. A very good or better bright example in the publisher's original pictorial paper-covered-boards printed in gray & navy & lettered in blue at the spine - a small chip at the upper spine joint repaired, inscribed on the ffe by the author; "To Lucy Cundiff / with best wishes from / C. S. Forester". Very handsome indeed in a very good dustwrapper [published slightly oversized & almost always found worn] with matching cover illustration, showing moderate use - two small chips, narrow loss at the spine crown & upper cover without loss of lettering, neatly mended closed tear, rubbing at the extremities. Forester's only mystery & very uncommon inscribed. A very nice copy of a book that usually turns up in poor shape because publisher Saunders' wartime production made use of rather cheap materials that had little staying power. $1350
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Rare DARK TUNNEL Presentation Copy in Original Dustwrapper

[30108] Macdonald, Ross [Kenneth Miller]. THE DARK TUNNEL. Signed. New York: Dodd Mead & Company, 1944. RARE PRESENTATION COPY OF THE AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK. First edition. 8vo. A very good copy in the original red cloth in a fine, fresh example of the rare dustwrapper showing minimal use. Inscribed on the ffe & signed as Kenneth Millar to a true early Millar/Macdonald supporter & collector of mystery & detection fiction. Also signed again on the Title Page as Kenneth Millar. Rare Inscribed. Very Rare if such were possible, in dustwrapper. $55,000

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A Splendid Copy In The Original Dustwrapper

[30064] (Kenneth Millar). (Ross Macdonald). MacDonald, John. THE MOVING TARGET. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949. First Edition of the first Ross Macdonald/Kenneth Millar mystery to feature Private Investigator Lew Archer. 8vo. 245 pp. A fine copy in tan cloth, green titles and decorations, red topstain, in a bright, fresh near fine or better unfaded pictorial dustwrapper with two small closed tears at the crown of the spine and negligible use at the heel. A superior copy of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Adapted into film as 'Harper' with Paul Newman. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. Exceptional premium example.  SOLD

 

 

NEW A Collection of Kenneth Millar / Ross Macdonald Highlights, Click The TBCL  Macdonald Link Here

 

 

1948 MLC 5 Dagger Classic

Dickson, Carter. (Carr, John Dickson). THE SKELETON IN THE CLOCK. New York: William Morrow, 1948. First Edition of this Golden Age mystery featuring detective Sir Henry Merrivale, 'explainer of the impossible' and his long-time associate, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Humphrey Masters. A near fine copy in beige cloth, red titles to the spine in a bright, fresh neatly price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper. 8vo. 282 pp. Barnes, Murder In Print. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. MLC 5 Dagger Classic. $225

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Cornell Woolrich as George Hopley 1st in lovely Dustwrapper

  Hopley, George. [Cornell Woolrich]. NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1945. A fine copy in a lovely near fine dustwrapper showing light use. Edward G. Robinson starred in the 1948 'noir' movie by the same name. The screenplay was written by Barré Lyndon & Jonathan Latimer. Woolrich also wrote as William Irish. NIGHT was his first book using the Hopley pseudonym. A very nice copy. $675  

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Great QQ #100 Inscribed "...by your command, Lillian de la Torre, November, 1776"

De La Torre, Lillian. DR. SAM: JOHNSON, DETECTOR. Signed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946. Queen's Quorum 100 title Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper. 'Cordially inscribed to Mae Carruthers, with the admiration and affection of many years, by Yours to command, Lillian de La Torre, November, 1746'. A fine copy in cinnamon cloth, gilt titles and decorations in a near fine pictorial dustwrapper with the slightest of use and one restored tiny chip to the spine crown. Pronzini and Muller, 1001 Midnights. Barnes, Muder In Print. The most desirable of 1746 inscriptions. $750
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QQ #102 - 1946 Maximo Roldan Mystery

Helu, Antonio. LA OBLIGACION DE ASESINAR. [HE COMPULSION TO MURDER] Mexico City : Albatros, 1946. First edition. A nice near fine or better copy of this Queen Quorum # 102 title: " Antonio Helu founded a south-of-the-border school of detection, & created the first great Mexican manhunter, Maximo Roldan. In the earliest tale to appear in the United States , Roldan solved an intricate and baffling murder to prove that crime does pay: for by solving the murder Roldan was able to pocket 10,000 pesos in jewels, thus combining (bloodhound) business with (pilfering) pleasure. The wages of sin, in Roldan's lexicon of larceny, is detection." A very nice example. $350  

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Uncommon 1946 Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone in DJ 

Crispin, Edmund. THE MOVING TOYSHOP. A DETECTIVE STORY. London: Victor Gollancz, 1946. First Edition of the third and most popular Gervase Fen mystery. A near fine copy in blue cloth, gilt titles, in a better than very good bright, fresh dustwrapper with some light overall use and a few minor chips. Small 8vo. 151 pp. A very nice copy of this uncommon Haycraft Queen Cornerstone, particularly in dustwrapper. Keating # 36, MLC 5 Dagger Rating, Hatchard's # 25 title. $650


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H-Q & QQ #104 First Edition

Vickers, Roy. THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD ENDS. New York: Spivak, 1947. First edition of this Paperback Original. Perfect-bound digest-sized wrappers. An excellent near fine or better copy. A collection of short stories about a department in Scotland Yard that solves long dead crimes. Queen's Quorum # 104 & Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. One of the few paperback originals with such distinction. An excellent example. $375 

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1948 H-Q Faulkner Cornerstone

Faulkner, William. INTRUDER IN THE DUST. New York : Random House, 1948. First Edition of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. A near fine copy in black cloth, (one small blemish to the front board), gilt and blue titles and decorations in a fresh pictorial dustwrapper with some very light overall use, [some old tape reinforcement at the corners]. 8vo. 247 pp. Adapted into the brilliant 1949 Clarence Brown film. A nice bright copy. $450  

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Uncommon 1948 Presentation Copy 5 Dagger Classic 

Brean, Herbert. WILDER WALKS AWAY. New York: William Morrow And Company, 1948. First Edition. 8vo., 244pp. Inscribed Presentation Copy: "For Jackie / Let us both thank / God you didn't have to / eat every word of this / one! / Herbert Brean / Mar. 30, 1948". Bluish green cloth stamped darker bluish green at the spine. A very good or better example in a moderately used dustwrapper. Rarely found inscribed. "Other people die of mumps Or general decay, Of fevers, chills or other ills But - Wilders Walk Away". MLC 5 Dagger Classic. $450




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Edgar Box Is Gore Vidal -Gore Vidal Is Edgar Box

Box, Edgar. [pseud. Gore Vidal]. DEATH LIKES IT HOT. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1954. First Edition of the third and last Box mystery starring Vidal's protagonist Peter Sargent III, New York public relations man. A better than very good copy, (evidence of a removed bookplate from the rfe., slight wear to the ends of pages 13-20), in black cloth, black titles to the spine in a bright, fresh pictorial dustwrapper with some light overall use. Uncommon - Nice Copy. Small 8vo. 187 pp. $275

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Author's Scarce First Mystery

Devine, D.M. (Devine, Dominic). MY BROTHER'S KILLER. London: Collins/The Crime Club, 1961. First Edition of the author's scarce first mystery. A fine copy in red cloth, black titles to the spine in an excellent pictorial dustwrapper. Small 8vo. 256 pp. A bright, fresh copy. Barnes, Murder In Print. Barzun & Taylor, A Catalogue Of Crime. $175

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1963 1st 1st Transcendental Langton

Langton, Jane. THE TRANSCENDENTAL MURDER. New York: Harper, 1964. First Edition of the author's first book introducing Homer Kelly, detective and Emersonian scholar. A fine copy in 1/4 black cloth over orange paper covered boards, orange and blue titles to the spine, illustrated endpapers, in a bright, fresh near fine pictorial dustwrapper. 8vo. 248 pp. Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights. $300

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1957 Edgar Winner

 Levin, Meyer. COMPULSION. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956. First Edition of this 1957 Special Edgar Award-winning 'documentary - novel' based on the infamous Loeb - Leopold case and precursor of Truman Capote's, In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer's, The Executioner's Song. A near fine copy in 1/4 red cloth over black paper covered boards, gilt titles to the spine in a better than very good bright, fresh neatly price-clipped dustwrapper showing some light use. Adapted into film with gripping performances by Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell and Bradford Diliman. 8vo. 495 pp. $175

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MADIGAN Starring Richard Widmark 

  Dougherty, Richard.. THE COMMISSIONER. First Edition. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962. A police thriller, adapted into the 1968 film and television series Madigan with Richard Widmark. A near fine copy in navy cloth, gilt titles to the spine in a bright, pictorial dustwrapper showing light use, some wear at the crown of the spine and some rubbing at the edges. 8vo. 368 pp. An uncommon copy of this well-received Manhattan mystery. $225



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James Bond In A Bra 

O'Donnell, Peter. MODESTY BLAISE. London: Souvenir, 1965. First Edition, First Book. 8vo., 224pp. Blue cloth, silver titles to spine. A near fine copy in price-clipped dustwrapper showing light use. Modesty Blaise, originally a comic strip created by O'Donnell (writer) & Jim Holdaway (art) in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents & a criminal past, & her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin. It was adapted into films made in 1966, 1982, & 2003 & a series of thirteen novels & short story collections, beginning in 1965 with this debut novel. $250





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The First Quiller

Hall, Adam (Elleston Trevor). THE BERLIN MEMORANDUM. [Quiller Memorandum]. A Novel of Espionage Berlin 1965 London: Collins, 1965. Exceptionally bright copy. First Edition of the first Quiller. Publisher's green cloth in the sharp red dustwrapper. A fine fresh copy - one small surface abrasion on the tip edge of the wrapper. Excellent example. $275

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Kingsley Amis & James Bond Superb Copies

(Fleming, Ian). Amis, Kingsley. (Markham, Robert). COLONEL SUN. A James Bond Adventure. London: Jonathan Cape, (1968). First Edition of the first post-Fleming 007 novel by Kingsley Amis writing as Robert Markham. 8vo. 255 pp. A very fine fresh copy in black cloth, gilt titles to the spine in a just about fine or better pictorial 'wraparound' dustwrapper designed by Tom Adams'. "The best of the (Bond) pastiches". Steinbrunner & Penzler, Encyclopedia Of Mystery And Detection. Very very nice example. $225 

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Amis, Kingsley. THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER. London: Jonathan Cape, (1965). First Edition of the first detailed literary critique of the Ian Fleming canon 'albeit somewhat tongue-in-cheek'. 8vo.159 pp. A very fine fresh copy in black cloth, gilt titles to the spine in a lovely near fine or better neatly price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper designed by Jan Pienkowski and 'based on the famous trompe l'oeil paintings by Richard Chopping reproduced on the jackets of the James Bond Books'. A very very nice example. SOLD

 


Exceptional FLASHMAN MLC 5 Dagger Classic

Fraser, George MacDonald. FLASHMAN. London: Herbert Jenkins. 1969. First Edition, first printing of Fraser's first Flashman novel. 8vo. 256 pp. A fine copy in red cloth, [discreet small name to the front free endpaper], gilt titles to the spine in a fine, bright, lovely unfaded pictorial dustwrapper illustrated by Arthur Barbosa. The adventures of Fraser's antihero, Sir Harry Paget Flashman, "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward and oh yes, a toady", broadly appropriated from Thomas Hughes's character Flashman in Tom Brown's Schooldays. A handsome copy of this MLC 5 Dagger Classic. $675

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Presentation Copy of ODESSA 

Forsyth, Frederick. THE ODESSA FILE. London: Hutchinson, 1972. First Edition. First UK Edition. The author's explosive second book following his breakthrough, The Day Of The Jackal. A near fine copy in a bright dustwrapper showing light use. Presentation Copy inscribed by the Author on the dedication page:" For / Louis Goldberg / with my warmest / regards / Freddie Forsyth / 4.10.72". It is uncommon to find Forsyth inscriptions signed with the more 'familiar' Freddie reserved for only the closest connections. Adapted into the gripping 1974 film with Jon Voight and Maximilian Schell. Great Copy. $700

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First Book, First UK & First US Editions

Cornwell, Bernard. SHARPE'S EAGLE. London: Collins, 1981. First Edition of Bernard Cornwell's first book and the first in the Richard Sharpe saga. 8vo. 266 pp. A near fine copy in green cloth, (unobtrusive small remainder mark to the title-page, front free endpaper professionally refreshed), gilt titles to the spine in a bright, fresh, near fine neatly price-clipped pictorial dustwrapper. Shown very nicely. $425 

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Cornwell, Bernard. SHARPE'S EAGLE. New York: Viking, (1981).First American Edition of Bernard Cornwell's first book and the first in the Richard Sharpe saga. 8vo. 270 pp. A fine copy in 1/4 beige cloth over cinnamon paper covered boards, copper titles to the spine in a bright, fresh, just about fine or better pictorial dustwrapper. Very Nice indeed. $175

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COLUMBO FILE Nicely Inscribed To Peter Falk's Mother

Dawidziak, Mark. THE COLUMBO PHILE. A Casebook. Signed. New York: The Mysterious Press, 1989. First Edition of this encyclopedic volume on "everyone's favourite rumpled television detective", Inscribed by author Mark Dawidziak to Columbo's (Peter Falk's) mother on the front free endpaper. "Without Madeline, there's no Peter. Without Peter, there's no Columbo. Without Columbo, there's no Columbo Phile. So, with my thanks and sincerest best wishes, Mark Dawidziak. 2/9/90." A fine copy in 1/4 black cloth over gray paper covered boards, gilt titles to the spine in a just about fine pictorial dustwrapper with one tiny stray pen mark to the rear panel. 8vo. 353 pp. Additionally, with 2 pp. of Peter Falk's handwritten high-school French homework laid-in, Signed "French 1-2. Peter Falk" at the top with a grade of 92 and a few corrections in red no doubt by Peter Falk's teacher. A unique item. [30179] SOLD


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It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

 O. Henry. THE GENTLE GRAFTER. New York: McClure, 1908. First Edition. First Issue point: "of" L2, p.226, Mclure, 1908 but with Doubleday at base of spine. Gilt lettered & stamped red cloth. The Classic O. Henry: This collection of short stories with one recurrent theme: the separation of a fool and his money. A near fine example of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone, QQ40, DSS. $150

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Leroux, Gaston. THE SECRET OF THE NIGHT. New York: Macauley Company, 1914. First American Edition of this Joseph Rouletabille mystery. A near fine copy in emerald green cloth, (previous collector's discreet name and date to the front free endpaper), gilt titles to the spine. 8vo. 376 pp. + 4 pp. of adverts. Illustrated with 4 black and white plates. $60  

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Orczy, Baroness. THE MAN IN GREY. London: Cassell, 1918. 8vo., 311 pp. , A very good copy showing modest use. Dark purple-brown cloth, gilt lettered at the spine. "Chronicles the triumph of the Napoleonic secret agent Fernand against members of the Chouans in 1809." - 20th Century Crime and Mystery Writers. $75
 

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Alexander Woollcott calls The Red House Mystery "one of the three best mystery stories of all time" according to Raymond Chandler ("The Simple Art of Murder").

It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

Phillpotts, Eden. THE GREY ROOM. New York: MacMillan, 1921. First Edition. 8vo., 266pp., rust cloth, gilt letter at the spine. Two variant copies of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Two variants: Presumed state A with "Printed in the United States Of America" on the copyright page & with "Ferris Printing Company" & presumed state B with neither of the prior two points but with "Printed in the United States Of America" on page pg. 266. A peculiar novel, the plot centered on a haunted room in an English manor house. $275

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"Crofts developed the painstaking demolition of the "unbreakable" alibi. His Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924) introduces Inspector French. Haycraft calls it " a volume worthy in almost every way to find its place on the shelf beside The Cask" (Murder for Pleasure)".

It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

Crofts, Freeman Wills. INSPECTOR FRENCH'S GREATEST CASE. New York: Thomas Seltzer, 1925. 8vo., First American Edition of this Haycraft-Queen cornerstone. The first Inspector French book. 8vo., 300pp. Kaki coloured cloth stamped red on the upper cover & spine. B&T #659, H-Q, Barnes. $75

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Hart, Frances Noyes. THE BELLAMY TRIAL . New York: Spivak, 1927. First edition thus.. Perfect-bound digest-sized wrappers. An excellent copy in fine condition. Bookseller's Library edition. Hart's breakthrough & most important title based on the famous Hall-Mills case, & "unfolds the totally absorbing story of the misalliances and crossed lives of two couples from the gentry of upstate New York; one wife has been murdered, and the husband and the other wife are the accused," - 20th Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Haycraft -Queen Cornerstone. $275


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 Hart, Frances Noyes. THE BELLAMY TRIAL. New York: Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1927. First edition. 8vo., Orange cloth. A near fine copy. Hart's breakthrough & most important title based on the famous Hall-Mills case, & "unfolds the totally absorbing story of the misalliances and crossed lives of two couples from the gentry of upstate New York; one wife has been murdered, and the husband and the other wife are the accused," - 20th Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Haycraft -Queen Cornerstone. $75

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The Poisoned Chocolates Murder Case (1929) -- "a notable tour de force with no less than six separate solutions, and a veritable textbook of the literature, must in the present writer's estimation be accorded top place among the Berkeley products" (Howard Haycraft, Murder for Pleasure).

It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

Berkeley, Anthony. THE POISONED CHOCOLATES CASE. New York: Doubleday Crime Club, 1929. First American Edition. A very good or better copy showing moderate use of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title. "When Joan Bendix makes a bet with her husband for a box of chocolates, no one imagines that winning will cost her her life. The seven she eats poison her, & the two her husband eats nearly kill him. The Sheringham Crime Circle finds the unusual case baffling." MLC 5 Dagger rating.  $75

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Burnett, W. R. LITTLE CAESAR Passions. Paris: Parima. 1929. 12mo., illustrated wrappers. Very uncommon First French edition. Originally published New York, 1929. A near fine example. Basis for the classic noir gangster movie starring Edward G. Robinson & Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. "Is this the end of Rico?" $375

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It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

Jesse, F. Tennyson. THE SOLANGE STORIES. London: Heinemann, 1931. First UK Edition. Publisher's original pink/purple cloth, front panel stamped in blind, spine panel stamped in gold. Heinemann windmill device stamped in blind on rear panel. A near fine, sharp copy. of this QQ #83, Queen's Quorum title. ".. the author reminds us that 'the fun of anything consists in its limitations; the framework of rules saying what we can't do. 'Then, to extend the old concepts of formula, Miss Jesse created a woman detective, Solange Fontaine, 'gifted by nature with an extra spiritual sense that warned her of evil." - Queen's Quorum. DSS $125

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Armstrong, Charlotte. THE UNSUSPECTED. New York: Coward-McCann, 1946. First Edition of this Haycraft Queen cornerstone title by this prolific Edgar Award winning crime novelist. 8vo. 217 pp. A fine copy in navy cloth, (the Florence and Edward Kaye copy with their neat leather bookplate affixed to the front pastedown), gilt titles to the spine in a bright, fresh very good indeed pictorial dustwrapper with some edgewear, closed tears and minor chipping to the back panel. Adapted into film with Claude Rains, Audrey Totter and Joan Caulfield. Noted in Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward's, Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style. $125

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Tey, Josephine [Mackintosh, Elizabeth Pseud.] THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR. London: Peter Davies, 1948. First Edition. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Small 8vo., 272pp., Brick coloured cloth with white spine lettering. A near fine example lacking the rare dustwrapper. A very important Tey novel. The Florence & Edward Kay Copy with their red leather bookplate. $250 

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It's A Mystery - Cornerstone H-Q & QQ Titles

 Hext, Harrington [pseudo. Of Eden Phillpotts] THE THING AT THEIR HEELS. New York: Macmillan, 1923. First Edition.  8vo., 334pp., black cloth gilt lettered to the spine. A fine copy lacking the rare dustwrapper. "A masterpiece in a pure variety of the species" - B&T #1129. $150

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Seeley, Mabel. THE CHUCKLING FINGERS. Garden City: Doubleday / Crime Club., 1941. True First Edition [possible 2nd printing as the First Edition Statement is not present] , 8vo., 294. Blue cloth stamped red on the upper cover & spine, red top stain. A fine copy in a very good or better dustwrapper showing minimal use. Highly regarded [See 1001 Midnights] Seeley's Listening House, 1938 is a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. $175

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Macdonald, Philip. SOMETHING TO HIDE. Garden City: Doubleday / Crime Club, 1952. First edition, preceding the UK edition. 8vo., 220pp. A fine copy in a scuffed very good dustwrapper with a 2" narrow horizontal chip at the top edge of the back panel. QQ Queen's Quorum # 108. A highly regarded collection of short stories. $75

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TBCL  Custom Cases are available in Cloth, Nuba & Leather.
Standard Case Titles include: Several of the titles appearing on this page. Please inquire. Other Custom Cases can be made to order.

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