Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Agatha Christie. The Big Four. Collins, London, 1935.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: This is a British first edition, twelfth printing. Condition is very good. The binding is tight, clean, and unfaded, though with a modest forward lean and only light wear to extremities. The contents are crisp and clean, with no spotting and no discernible age toning apart from transfer browning to the endpapers from the pastedown glue. Even the text block edges are notably bright. The sole previous ownership mark is a contemporary name, British Columbia address, and date of "Nov. 2nd, 1936" inked on the front free endpaper recto. The Big Four, first published in the UK and the US in 1927, consists of a set of 12 loosely connected short stories. It followed the huge critical success of the previous year's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. At the beginning of the story, Hercule Poirot is visited at his home by a man "coated from head to foot with dust and mud". The man initially can only repeat Poirot's address, and draws the number 4 "a dozen times, each one bigger than the last". He eventually speaks about an international crime syndicate, and then swiftly dies. Poirot is swept up into the pursuit of the titular Big Four.Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best-selling novelist of all time, most well known for her works of mystery featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Born to a wealthy family in Devon, Agatha Christie spent her happy childhood within the pages of books, having taught herself to read at an early age. Following her fathers death she was sent to a finishing school in Paris. Upon her return to England in 1910 she found her mother ill so they set off to the warmer climate of Cairo for her recovery. This first experience in Egypt was a formative one for the future writer; archaeology, Egyptology, and the Middle East would serve as settings for many of her most famous works. Though Christie was writing through the 1910s and had a number of short stories published under pseudonyms, it would be a decade before her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published.Agatha Christie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956 in honor of her contribution to British literature. Today Christies titles have sold over two billion copies, placing her behind only Shakespeare and the Bible in sales. Her play The Mousetrap has the longest continual initial run of any play, having been performed continuously in Londons West End since its opening in 1952.
Seller: Churchill Book Collector ABAA/ILAB/IOBA, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$3999.99 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: AGATHA CHRISTIE - DEATH IN THE CLOUDS (published in the U.S. under the title "Death in the Air"), published by UK publisher Collins, copyright 1935, First Printing (states "Copyright 1935" on copyright page with no references to subsequent printings), lists to "Murder on the Orient Express" on list of Christie books to left of title page, orange cloth boards with black lettering to spine and front board, 2nd state original Dust Jacket (identical to the 1st state but for the 3/6 rather than 7/6 price on spine) . Book has no creased page corners, former owner's name at top right on ffe, no other former owner or used bookstore markings/stamps inside, clean endpapers with no staining or tape residue, no foxing to pages, endpapers, or outer pages, barest hint of age darkening/dust soiling to outer page edges which are still white, no lettering fading/wear to spine (common defect with these early Collins 1st print books), no wear to board edges, board corners or spine tips, none of the usual dust/handling soiling to cloth boards, no spine darkening and just a hint of spine fading. Book has clearly been in a DJ all its life. Dust Jacket has tiny bits of loss at spine tips (basically large 'v' losses at spine tip corners), closed partial tear along right edge bottom on spine curving into front panel, tiny tear with related crease at top left on rear panel, and tiny chip at bottom right on front panel otherwise no chipping or tearing or creasing, slight wear to spine tips & to front flap crease, hint of edge wear, slight dust soiling to white rear panel, no spine fade, no scotch tape marks to flaps, no soiling or staining. Overall a N-FINE book in VG/VG+ condition dust jacket (not price clipped) of a rare 1930s era UK Agatha Christie 1st printing IN ORIGINAL DUST JACKET. I have a number of other U.K. and U.S. Agatha Christie 1st printing hardcover books up for sale.
Seller: Far North Collectible Books, Anchorage, AK, U.S.A.
Agatha Christie. Death In the Clouds. The Crime Club, Collins, UK, 1935.
Price: US$32066.83 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Death In the Clouds by Agatha Christie First Edition The Crime Club Collins 1935. No inscriptions, no foxing and completely unblemished throughout. Covers are near fine. With only a faint touch of toning to tail of spine where corresponding restoration has been done to the original dust jacket. The jacket is bright and has no closed tears or creasing. For further images please see the Brought to Book homepage.
Seller: Brought to Book Ltd, London, United Kingdom