The Dain Curse. by HAMMETT, Dashiell - 1929

New York: Alfred A. Knopf,, 1929. Very scarce in such a well-preserved state First edition, first printing, of Hammett's second book and the final Continental Op novel, one of the two hardest to find in the dust jacket and thus genuinely uncommon in such a well-preserved, unrestored state. It is a sensational example of golden age book production. The Dain Curse was originally serialized in four parts in Black Mask from November 1928 to February 1929 but, at the suggestion of Knopf, Hammett revised it for publication as a novel. As a first printing this copy has the issue point of "dopped in" for "dropped in" in line 19 of page 260. Octavo. Original yellow cloth, spine decoratively stamped and lettered in black and red, black single-line border stamped to front board with skull-and-crossbones ornament in red, rear board stamped with black rectangular Borzoi Books device, top edge purple, fore edge untrimmed. With dust jacket illustrated by F. H. Horvath, with a plot summary of this title on rear panel and blurbs of Red Harvest on the front panel, priced $2.00. Housed in a custom flat-back blue cloth box. Title page printed in brown and black, with skull-and-crossbones vignette in brown. A near-fine copy, with a very slight lean and fade to spine and faint traces of soiling to extremities, in an about near-fine jacket, the spine sunned, extremities worn with some chipping and a few short closed tears, the front panel remaining notably bright. Layman A2.1.a.