Dec 6, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
694
A fine association between Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
HAMMETT, DASHIELL
The Maltese Falcon. New York: Grossett & Dunlap, seventh printing, May 1931. An interesting association copy as on the pastedown is affixed the clipped masthead of the January 1935 issue of Black Mask magazine which printed Chandler’s "Killer in the Rain." The front free endpaper bears Chandler’s blue ownership stamp with his address at 6520 Drexel Avenue in Los Angeles and on the rear pastedown is affixed a portrait of Hammett. Publisher’s orange cloth stamped in blind. Unobtrusive wormhole to the gutter of the upper cover through to the endpapers and first text leaves including the title, further worm damage to about two inches of the inner front hinge which is loose, offset to endpaper; Offered with the Index only to Edward Hayward's The Art of the Mystery Story. New York: Simon and Schuster, [1947]. Issued separately with the second edition of the book. Wrappers. Lightly soiled.
A fine association copy between two of the top detective writers of the 20th century, The Maltese Falcon author Dashiell Hammett and The Big Sleep author Raymond Chandler. It is well known how Chandler began honing his craft by publishing detective stories in magazines in the 1930s before completing his first novel in 1939 at 44 years old. We presume Chandler acquired this 1931 printing of Hammett's Sam Spade classic about the time in 1935 when his novelette "Killer in the Rain" was published in Black Mask and it is tantalizing to connect the two. Chandler and his wife Cissy lived at 6520 Drexel Avenue in Los Angeles from 1944-46. The Maltese Falcon was made into a spectacular film starring Humphrey Bogart in 1941 which also may have regenerated interest in the title as Chandler began screenwriting in the mid-1940s.
Sold for $4,800
Estimated at $500 - $800
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler
HAMMETT, DASHIELL
The Maltese Falcon. New York: Grossett & Dunlap, seventh printing, May 1931. An interesting association copy as on the pastedown is affixed the clipped masthead of the January 1935 issue of Black Mask magazine which printed Chandler’s "Killer in the Rain." The front free endpaper bears Chandler’s blue ownership stamp with his address at 6520 Drexel Avenue in Los Angeles and on the rear pastedown is affixed a portrait of Hammett. Publisher’s orange cloth stamped in blind. Unobtrusive wormhole to the gutter of the upper cover through to the endpapers and first text leaves including the title, further worm damage to about two inches of the inner front hinge which is loose, offset to endpaper; Offered with the Index only to Edward Hayward's The Art of the Mystery Story. New York: Simon and Schuster, [1947]. Issued separately with the second edition of the book. Wrappers. Lightly soiled.
A fine association copy between two of the top detective writers of the 20th century, The Maltese Falcon author Dashiell Hammett and The Big Sleep author Raymond Chandler. It is well known how Chandler began honing his craft by publishing detective stories in magazines in the 1930s before completing his first novel in 1939 at 44 years old. We presume Chandler acquired this 1931 printing of Hammett's Sam Spade classic about the time in 1935 when his novelette "Killer in the Rain" was published in Black Mask and it is tantalizing to connect the two. Chandler and his wife Cissy lived at 6520 Drexel Avenue in Los Angeles from 1944-46. The Maltese Falcon was made into a spectacular film starring Humphrey Bogart in 1941 which also may have regenerated interest in the title as Chandler began screenwriting in the mid-1940s.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Dec 6, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on December 6, 2024
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Books, Autographs & Maps
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle held a successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps onDecember 6, 2024 showcased is a wonderful diversity of Americana, maps, autographs, early books and landmarks of literature and science.
Highlighting the sale was the first edition of Spinoza's Tractatus theologico-politicus from 1670 that soared to $70,350. Spinoza’s Tractatus is his only work published during his lifetime and remains his most significant. It presents a clear theory of natural right, asserting that the love of God leads to love for others. The state exists to ensure liberty, not oppression, with justice, wisdom, and toleration as key. Influential to thinkers like Blake and Goethe, it shaped Romanticism.
The Jean Vounder-Davis Collection offered the largest trove of unpublished Raymond Chandler stories, poetry, letters, books and personal artifacts to come to market. Best known for his Philip Marlowe detective novels including The Big Sleep (1939) and Farewell, My Lovely (1940) and as screenwriter of film noir classics such as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Blue Dahlia (1946), Raymond Chandler is considered one of the top writers in the hardboiled fiction genre alongside Dashiell Hammett and James Cain. Held for decades, the archive belonged to Jean Fracasse [later Vounder-Davis] who was first hired in January 1957 as Chandler's personal secretary but quickly became his close friend, confidant, fiancé and muse to whom he dedicated his last book.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
