agent
Kevin Sell, The Rare Book Sleuth
Minneapolis MnSaint PaulMN 55119United States
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USD$3,500

Description

First American edition, first printing of Hammett's fourth novel, his personal favorite of his own books and a high point of noir literature. Basis for two film adaptations, an Orson Welles radio adaptation and a major influence on the Coen Brotthers' 1990 film Miller's Crossing. (Johnson, pg. 134; Layman A 4.2.a.) New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931. Publisher's original green cloth with an illustration of a key in dark green, ruled in maroon, spine decorated in maroon and teal, first issue jacket; pp. (viii), [2], 3-282, [2]. A very good copy in an about very good, unclipped dust jacket. Binding remains sturdy, minor shelfwear to boards with spine ends lightly pushed and a touch of fraying to one corner, light toning and foxing to boards. Bookplate removed from front pastedown, with an area of horizontal abrading and a faint tape mark, old penciled prices erased from flyleaf, else internally clean. Jacket shows general shelfwear and light creasing with chipping to extremities, small stain to rear flap, protected in archival mylar.

About The Glass Key

The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in 1931. This work is a classic of the hard-boiled detective fiction genre and is noted for its gritty portrayal of corruption and political influence.