HAMMETT, Dashiell (1894-1961). The Dain Curse. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929.

A classic of the hardboiled detective genre: first edition, first printing, of the author's second book in the rare dust-jacket. Narrated by the Continental Op, the private investigator protagonist of The Red Harvest and numerous short stories, The Dain Curse first appeared as a 4-part serialization in Black Mask. The attractive dust-jacket is a noted rarity. It was designed by Hungarian-born artist F.H. Horvath, who would also provide the iconic artwork for The Maltese Falcon. Layman A2.1.a.

Octavo. Original yellow cloth stamped with red skull and cross-bones within brown single-rule frame, titles and decoration to spine in red and brown (a couple of marks to cloth, upper joint just faintly rubbed); original pictorial dust-jacket by F.H. Horvath (spine a little faded, extremities lightly rubbed, restoration to spine panel with a few letters in facsimile, a few repairs to small chips or tears); custom cloth box. Provenance: partially removed ownership inscription to front endpaper and associated offsetting to front flap of jacket.