THE MALTESE FALCON by Hammett, Dashiell - 1930

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. First printing. Near fine.. First edition in book form of the hard-boiled classic, in which private detective Sam Spade chases a valuable artifact with the femme fatale Brigid O'Shaughnessy, rarely found with the original dust jacket (here professionally restored). Hammett, a former Pinkerton detective, was one of the primary pioneers of a distinctly American strain of detective fiction: the hard boiled. THE MALTESE FALCON captures many of the key traits of the genre, including a gritty setting (in this case 1920s San Francisco), morally ambiguous characters where no one seems entirely "good, " and an isolated, lone-wolf protagonist who lacks the gentlemanly demeanor of famous antecedents like Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in a series of five issues of THE BLACK MASK beginning September 1929. Although the book didn't live up to Knopf's hopes, selling about a tenth the copies A FAREWELL TO ARMS did the previous year, it was vaulted to icon status with the 1941 noir film starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. 7.5'' x 5''. Original grey cloth, falcon design in blue on front board, spine stamped in blue and black, publisher's device on rear board. Black topstain, fore-edge machine deckle. In original expertly restored yellow dust jacket with falcon statue and hand grasping valuables on the front cover, and ads for Dain Curse and Red Harvest priced at $2.00 on rear cover, price clipped (as nearly always). [8], 267, [1] pages. Housed in a custom blue quarter goatskin clamshell box. Text clean and fresh.