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The Thin Man

The Thin Man

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The Thin Man

by Hammett, Dashiell

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
Condition
Very Good
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Portland, Oregon, United States
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About This Item

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. Seventh Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Seventh printing. Association copy signed by Dashiell Hammett, inscribed "For Barrett C. Kiesling with all good wishes / Dashiell Hammett Hollywood Nov 5. 1934." Kiesling was Publicity Director for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. A near fine copy, lacking the dust jacket, with a small stain on the front board cloth, lightly worn head and foot. Things happened very quickly for the acclaimed crime writer with his final novel The Thin Man. First published in Collier's in December 1933, it was in book form the following month, and was released as a hit MGM movie that May with William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora.

Synopsis

Dashiell Samuel Hammett was born in St. Mary’s County. He grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Hammett left school at the age of fourteen and held several kinds of jobs thereafter—messenger boy, newsboy, clerk, operator, and stevedore, finally becoming an operative for Pinkerton’s Detective Agency. Sleuthing suited young Hammett, but World War I intervened, interrupting his work and injuring his health. When Sergeant Hammett was discharged from the last of several hospitals, he resumed detective work. He soon turned to writing, and in the late 1920s Hammett became the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America. In The Maltese Falcon (1930) he first introduced his famous private eye, Sam Spade. The Thin Man (1932) offered another immortal sleuth, Nick Charles. Red Harvest (1929), The Dain Curse (1929), and The Glass Key (1931) are among his most successful novels. During World War II, Hammett again served as sergeant in the Army, this time for more than two years, most of which he spent in the Aleutians. Hammett’s later life was marked in part by ill health, alcoholism, a period of imprisonment related to his alleged membership in the Communist Party, and by his long-time companion, the author Lillian Hellman, with whom he had a very volatile relationship. His attempt at autobiographical fiction survives in the story “Tulip,” which is contained in the posthumous collection The Big Knockover (1966, edited by Lillian Hellman). Another volume of his stories, The Continental Op (1974, edited by Stephen Marcus), introduced the final Hammett character: the “Op,” a nameless detective (or “operative”) who displays little of his personality, making him a classic tough guy in the hard-boiled mold—a bit like Hammett himself.

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Details

Bookseller
Burnside Rare Books, ABAA US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
180609002
Title
The Thin Man
Author
Hammett, Dashiell
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - Very Good
Quantity Available
1
Edition
Seventh Printing
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
1934
Bookseller catalogs
Literature;

Terms of Sale

Burnside Rare Books, ABAA

30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.

About the Seller

Burnside Rare Books, ABAA

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2010
Portland, Oregon

About Burnside Rare Books, ABAA

Burnside Rare Books specializes in literary first editions and works of cultural and historic significance. We are located in Portland, Oregon and welcome visitors by appointment.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket
Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Association Copy
An association copy is a copy of a book which has been signed and inscribed by the author for a personal friend, colleague, or...
Inscribed
When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...

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