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Lot 193 |PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
HAMMETT, Dashiell (1894-1961). The Thin Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934.
Closed4 December 2018
Price Realised
USD 27,500
More Information
HAMMETT, Dashiell (1894-1961). The Thin Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934.
A presentation copy of the first American edition of Hammett’s controversial hardboiled classic, in jacket, inscribed: “For Eric and Gerty with my best, if illiterate regards and things.” Sinclair Lewis described Hammett as "undoubtedly the best of American detective story writers, and The Thin Man is certainly the most breathless of his stories" (Nolan). The book was banned in Boston and bowdlerized in Britain over the use of the word “erection.” While the word was excised from the London edition (“erections did not, at that time, exist in the English novel” according to Julian Symons), the American publisher put an ad in The New York Times fanning the flames of the scandal. Layman A6.1.a; see William F. Nolan, Hammett: A Life at the Edge, p. 139.
Octavo (188 x 129mm). Original green cloth (spine slightly frayed); dust jacket (rubbed with a few creases, closed tears, and tape repairs); in slipcase. Provenance: Eric and Gerty (presentation signature) – Roger Rechler (his sale, Christie's New York, 11 October 2002, lot 136, $17,925).
A presentation copy of the first American edition of Hammett’s controversial hardboiled classic, in jacket, inscribed: “For Eric and Gerty with my best, if illiterate regards and things.” Sinclair Lewis described Hammett as "undoubtedly the best of American detective story writers, and The Thin Man is certainly the most breathless of his stories" (Nolan). The book was banned in Boston and bowdlerized in Britain over the use of the word “erection.” While the word was excised from the London edition (“erections did not, at that time, exist in the English novel” according to Julian Symons), the American publisher put an ad in The New York Times fanning the flames of the scandal. Layman A6.1.a; see William F. Nolan, Hammett: A Life at the Edge, p. 139.
Octavo (188 x 129mm). Original green cloth (spine slightly frayed); dust jacket (rubbed with a few creases, closed tears, and tape repairs); in slipcase. Provenance: Eric and Gerty (presentation signature) – Roger Rechler (his sale, Christie's New York, 11 October 2002, lot 136, $17,925).
HAMMETT, Dashiell (1894-1961). The Thin Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934.
A presentation copy of the first American edition of Hammett’s controversial hardboiled classic, in jacket, inscribed: “For Eric and Gerty with my best, if illiterate regards and things.” Sinclair Lewis described Hammett as "undoubtedly the best of American detective story writers, and The Thin Man is certainly the most breathless of his stories" (Nolan). The book was banned in Boston and bowdlerized in Britain over the use of the word “erection.” While the word was excised from the London edition (“erections did not, at that time, exist in the English novel” according to Julian Symons), the American publisher put an ad in The New York Times fanning the flames of the scandal. Layman A6.1.a; see William F. Nolan, Hammett: A Life at the Edge, p. 139.
Octavo (188 x 129mm). Original green cloth (spine slightly frayed); dust jacket (rubbed with a few creases, closed tears, and tape repairs); in slipcase. Provenance: Eric and Gerty (presentation signature) – Roger Rechler (his sale, Christie's New York, 11 October 2002, lot 136, $17,925).
A presentation copy of the first American edition of Hammett’s controversial hardboiled classic, in jacket, inscribed: “For Eric and Gerty with my best, if illiterate regards and things.” Sinclair Lewis described Hammett as "undoubtedly the best of American detective story writers, and The Thin Man is certainly the most breathless of his stories" (Nolan). The book was banned in Boston and bowdlerized in Britain over the use of the word “erection.” While the word was excised from the London edition (“erections did not, at that time, exist in the English novel” according to Julian Symons), the American publisher put an ad in The New York Times fanning the flames of the scandal. Layman A6.1.a; see William F. Nolan, Hammett: A Life at the Edge, p. 139.
Octavo (188 x 129mm). Original green cloth (spine slightly frayed); dust jacket (rubbed with a few creases, closed tears, and tape repairs); in slipcase. Provenance: Eric and Gerty (presentation signature) – Roger Rechler (his sale, Christie's New York, 11 October 2002, lot 136, $17,925).