Search Results: postman rings by cain

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First edition of one of the most important crime novels of the twentieth century, adapted as a motion picture seven times. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly Signed by James M. Cain on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the crown. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very nice example, rare and desirable signed. It is sometimes easy to trace a literary genre to its source, and James M. Cain's first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is the noir novel that paved the way for all the noir fiction that followed. The famous film starring Lana Turner and John Garfield is notoriously dark, but the novel is even more full of despair and devoid of hope. It is a short book--little more than a novella--but its searing characterization and depiction of tawdry greed and lust is branded into every reader's memory" (Otto Penzler). Listed by Modern Library as one of the 100 greatest novels of the twentieth century.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Edition. Cain's first novel, and one of the defining works of crime fiction to come out of the Depression. "An itinerant worker and the young wife of the Greek owner of a roadside lunchroom near Los Angeles plot her husband's murder. The first attempt fails; the second succeeds. What follows is guilt, suspicion, betrayal, their own deaths, and a novel that anticipated the trend of existentialism in fiction" (Baird 379). Cain was a generous signer of books, nearly to the end of his days, but presentation copies of Postman have always been uncommon. This copy is one of just five that have appeared in the auction record (the others were inscribed to Walter Lippman, Tatnall Brown, Samuel Marx, and Teddy LeBeau). Lackritz (1945-2009) was a bibliophile and pre-eminent Sherlockian, whose comprehensive collection of mystery and detective fiction was offered in a three-part name sale at Christie's in 2002 (a serious literary event). A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title,… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition. Boards are slightly soiled and near fine, with a supplied proof dustwrapper which came directly from the estate of the artist Arthur Hawkins, Jr. The jacket has been folded with a crease at the spine, Knopf's small Borzoi logo has been cut away from the rear panel (possibly for another design by Hawkins), and Hawkins has written the date "1933" on the front flap, although the book wasn't released until 1934. However the jacket is exceptionally bright and otherwise fine, and about 1/4" taller than the finished version, to which we have compared it (although otherwise identical to it). The jacket was unsigned by Hawkins, unlike most of his work, but is credited to him in Heller and Chwast's seminal study of jacket design, *Jackets Required* - the survival of this proof in his estate seems to confirm their research. A milestone of hardboiled literature that was the basis for the classic 1946 film featuring Lana Turner and… Read More

Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. A near fine first edition (so stated on the copyright page) in a near fine dust jacket. Some slight foxing on fore-edge. Housed in a custom-made quarter leather collector's case.

Knopf, 1934. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. A fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

Knopf, 1934. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. A fine first edition in a very good dust jacket. First Edition stated on the title page and 1934 on the title page. Original price of $2.00 net still on front flap of dust jacket. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Edition of the author’s first novel; a Haycraft-Queen cornerstone. Very minor offsetting (browning) on the endpapers, closed tear in the back panel, else fine. The cloth is exceptionally bright; in a very good dust jacket with some browning and tiny chips. Few novels have been as well-served by a cinema adaptation as this book was by the 1946 film.

(n.p.): Editions for the Armed Services, Inc.. Very Good. [1944] (c.1934). First Edition Thus. Stapled wraps. [moderately worn copy, slght fading along spine, short diagonal crease at bottom corner of front cover; internally quite clean, with typical signs of aging to cheap paper]. An outstanding association copy of Cain's most famous novel, INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the title page -- an amusing inscription to film producer and fellow screenwriter Carey Wilson which reads: "To Cary [sic] Wilson / The best edition / of all / Jim." Wilson was the producer of the long-delayed MGM film version of the book, released in 1946, and in fact had been the first writer assigned to the property when MGM resuscitated it in 1944 (having owned the rights for several years but been put off by the censorship challenges), although the screenplay credit on the finished film was shared by Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch. The inscription is undated, but almost certainly dates from the… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934., 1934. First edition. First edition. Author's first book. Publisher's response card laid-in. A near fine copy with dark top-staining in dust jacket with light restoration by a paper conservator to corners, spine ends, and two small closed tears to top edge of front cover and with absolutely no sunning to the spine panel. A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband. Even after the deed is done they must live with the consequences of their actions. First filmed in 1946 and starring Lana Turner as Cora, Cecil Kellaway as her husband, and John Garfield as Frank the drifter. Again in 1981 it was filmed and starred Jack Nicholson as Frank, Jessica Lange as Cora, and John Colicos as her husband. A great hard-boiled crime novel with the publisher's response card laid in. An unusually sharp copy of this Haycraft/Queen Cornerstone mystery novel. Also listed as one of the Great Books on the Modern Library list of the 100 Best Books of… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1934. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. With an original black and white photo laid in, signed by the author. Publisher's original orange cloth with blue titles and borders to upper board and spine, in the Arthur Hawkins, Jr illustrated dustwrapper. Top edge blue. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm and the cloth bright and fresh. The contents with some spotting to the prelims and closed text block edge are otherwise clean and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed, price-clipped dustwrapper that has some small scuffs to the bottom edge of the front panel and some toning to the spine, folds and flap edges. Loosely laid in is a black and white photograph of the author which he has signed in black ink. The author's seminal first novel. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. (Hubin). Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.

New York: Knopf, 1934. First Edition. Hard Cover. Dust Jacket. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1934). First US Edition. Publisher's orange cloth with blue-stamped spine outlining the lettering and blue lettering and designs to the front board, top edge stained blue. The book itself is very nearly fine and an excellent example with bright and clean boards. There are NO INSCRIPTIONS or BOOK-PLATES. The VG D/W is the correct first issue priced $2.00 net and with the red ink blurb to the inside flap and with the correct books listed to the rear panel. The D/W is lightly rubbed to the spine tips and less so to the extremities. The verso has had minor archival strengthening at the spine ends by a skilled conservator but no restoration to the D/W. Laid in is a former bookseller's details as to when this book was first sold at $12.50(!). Housed in a custom-made clamshell box.

Knopf, 1934. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First edition of Cains most significant title. Octavo (7 3/8 x 5 inches; 188 x 127 mm). [viii], 187, [1], [1, blank], [1, colophon] pp. Publishers orange cloth with blue-stamped spine outlining the lettering and blue lettering and designs on the front, top edge stained blue. Covers soiled. First edition stated on the copyright page. In dust jacket with the $2.00 price. Overall a good to very good minus copy in an unrestored dust jacket. Previous owner's bookplate attached to front free end paper. See photos. "Cain was one of the masters of American hard-boiled fiction. His first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is a story of a young hobo who has an affair with the wife of a roadside stand owner and plots with her to murder her husband and collect his insurance. In taut, sparse prose, Cain depicts a bleak, amoral society of desperate characters driven by their need for love, however twisted, as well as… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934 First edition, first printing. Original publisher's orange cloth, titles and decorations printed in blue to front board and spine, blue top stain; original black, red and white dust jacket with wavy design. Near fine book with a touch of soiling to top edge of text block, light wear to bottom edges of boards, and previous owner’s bookplate to front pastedown; very good unclipped dust jacket with a bit of wear to jacket flap hinges and spine ends, closed tear to bottom two inches of spine, small closed tear to bottom of rear panel, a bit of soiling and smudging to rear panel, and minor toning to spine. Overall, a sturdy copy in a bright example of its iconic dust jacket. In The Postman Always Rings Twice, a drifter named Frank Chambers takes a job at a rural diner, and he and the owner’s wife, Cora, quickly begin a passionate affair. Longing to be free from Cora’s husband, the two brutally murder him, but their bond begins to fray when they enter… Read More

Knopf, 1934. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. A very good first edition (First Edition stated on copyright page) in a very good dust jacket, with original $2 price on front flap. First issue jacket with correct books listed on the back panel. Owner's signature on front free endpaper. Comes in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Very Good in a Very Good jacket, unclipped ($2.00), generally toned, a larger chip at the foot of the spine, lesser chips along the edges. Orange cloth, darkened at the edges, with blue ink lettering and panels. Square, bound with some reading wear, blue top stain, toned at the endpapers, clean otherwise. Cain's classic debut novel about an affair turned deadly. Adapted into the 1946 Tay Garnett film starring Lana Turner and John Garfield.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First edition of one of the most important crime novels of the twentieth century, adapted as a motion picture seven times. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt ruled inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation. "It is sometimes easy to trace a literary genre to its source, and James M. Cain's first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is the noir novel that paved the way for all the noir fiction that followed. The famous film starring Lana Turner and John Garfield is notoriously dark, but the novel is even more full of despair and devoid of hope. It is a short book--little more than a novella--but its searing characterization and depiction of tawdry greed and lust is branded into every reader's memory" (Otto… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Facsimile Dust Jacket. 8vo. Orange cloth with dark blue decorations and titles to spine and front panel. Wrapped in FACSIMILE DUST JACKET. Some wear and soiling to boards but otherwise a very nice copy of Cain's most famous book.

London: Cape, 1934. First Edition. Hard Cover. First UK Edition. A VG++ copy without D/W. This book would definitely take a D/W. Uncommon

New York: The World Publishing Company, 1946. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. First thus of this omnibus edition, signed by Cain on the ffep. Very good book with some shelf wear at spine ends and corner tips. Jacket has 1" triangular chip from head of spine, chipping at heel and corners, and a tear to top edge of inner rear flap. Good. Very scarce signed copy of the author's most prominent work(s).

London: Jonathan Cape, 1934. First British Edition. Hardcover. Octavo, 192 pages. In Very Good minus condition, and lacking issued dust jacket. Bound in yellow cloth with black lettering. Minor shelf wear. Soiling to spine and boards. Some age-toning to edges of textblock. Interior pages clean. Shelved in Case 6. 1372889. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.