Books

New York: Lincoln Mac Veagh / The Dial Press, 1929. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (19.5cm); navy blue cloth, with titling and publisher's logo stamped in yellow and in blind to spine and front cover; dustjacket; [viii],[2],3-308pp. Spine ends gently nudged, upper corner of rear board gently tapped (though still sharp), else very Near Fine and clean throughout. Dustjacket designed by Irving Politzer is unclipped (priced $2.00), mild, even toning to panels, with four short tears along upper edge (the longest being 7/16"), and a tiny tear to lower rear flap fold; a Near Fine, unrestored example. Housed in a custom clamshell case. Burnett's first novel, a hard-boiled classic charting the rise and fall of a Chicago gangster against a backdrop of political and social turmoil. The title character, Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello, was based, in part, after real-life Chicago gangster Al Capone, who experienced a similar rise and fall. The novel was released in 1929, the same year…