Books

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Editions. A uniformly attractive set of Hammett's complete novels published by Knopf. Within the annals of American crime fiction, few novels are more influential, more immitated, or have had such lasting impact approaching a century after publication. Hammet gave us the Continental Op, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, and perhaps most importantly, he took the language of the genre out of the tea room and into the streets. Layman A1.1.a, A2.1.a, A3.1.a, A4.2.a, A6.1.a. First Printings. Five octavo volumes (19.5cm); red, yellow, pale grey, and jade green cloth-covered boards, with titles and backgammon motif stamped in various colors on spines, and pictorial emblems stamped on front covers; yellowish-green, brown, blue-grey, and maroon topstains; [xii],[3],4-270,[6]; [x],[3],4-272,[6]; [xii],[2],3-267,[5]; [viii],[2],3282,[2]; [x],[2],3-258,[4]pp. Red Harvest: bookplate of Vivian E. Pound to front endpaper, some trivial wear to lower corner…

The Thin Man is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in the December 1933 issue of Redbook. It is the last novel Hammett completed and features the characters Nick and Nora Charles, who would later become widely recognized through the series of films made from the book.

One way to determine if a copy of 'The Thin Man' is a first edition is to look for the publisher's name, Alfred A. Knopf, along with the date 1934 with no additional printings listed on the copyright page. First editions may also feature specific cover designs or dust jackets that were unique to that initial printing.