Books

London: Alfred A. Knopf. 1931. First edition in book form, first printing [first state]. First edition in book form, first printing [first state]. Publisher's original blue cloth with red titles to the spine and white key illustration to the upper board, lacking the rare dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little rubbing and bumping to the extremities, the cloth clean though darkened to the spine. The contents, with a small previous owner's name to the front endpaper and the odd finger marks to the margins are otherwise clean. First published over four issues of Black Mask magazinel beginning March 1930) under the editorship of Joseph T. Shaw. This first edition in book form, in the correct first state of binding and contents (with Knopf stamped to the bottom of the spine and no mention of Cassell on the title page) was issued in January 1931 preceding the American book publication by three months. A Haycraft Queen Cornerstone. (Hubin; Layman…

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.

First editions of 'The Glass Key' published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1931 typically have the publisher's borzoi dog logo on the copyright page and lack subsequent printings or editions mentioned.