Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
HAMMETT, Dashiell (Edits.,. MODERN TALES OF HORROR.. Gollancz, London,, 1932.
Price: US$82.68 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First Edition. Hardback. First UK edition, first impression, originally published in the US under the title Creeps By Night (1931) The American edition comprised twenty stories, the two omitted here are "The Rat" by S. Fowler Wright and "The Strange Case of Mrs. Arkwright" by Harold Dearden. Bleiler remarks that "the circumstances of the following anthology are not known, but Hammett was a very well-read man, and it is entirely possible that he assembled it". Includes work by Lovecraft (an early appearance between hard covers), Donald Wandrei and Frank Belknap Long. Early anthology in the canon of weird fiction. Gathered here are eighteen short stories with an introduction by Hammett, including, among others, works by William Faulkner ("A Rose for Emily"), Andr Maurois ("The House"), L. A. G. Strong ("Breakdown"), John Collier ("Green Thoughts"), Conrad Aiken ("Mr. Arcularis"), H. P. Lovecraft ("The Music of Erich Zann"), Stephen Vincent Bent ("The King of the Cats"), Donald Wandrei ("The Red Brain") and Frank Belknap Long ("A Visitor from Egypt"). Attractively bound in half black leather with marbled boards lettered and decorated gilt at the spine with 5 raised bands. Binding in excellent condition, pages a little foxed throughout, one page edge creased not affecting text.
Seller: Burwood Books, Wickham Market, United Kingdom
Hammett, Dashiell. MODERN TALES OF HORROR. Victor Gollancz Ltd, United Kingdom, 1932.
Price: US$127.20 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Anthology of 18 short horror stories selected & with an introduction by Dashiell. Hammett. Includes: The Music of Erich Zann by H.P. Lovecraft, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, and The House by Andre Maurois. Tipped-in label at the front endpaper states that John Collier's story Green Thoughts was published in a limited edition and is here reproduced by the publisher's courteous permission. First UK Edition. Victor Gollancz Ltd, London 1932. 448pp hb black cloth with red lettering, spine faded, covers rubbed, pages browned, bookseller’s stamp on fep, good
Seller: Occultique, Northampton, United Kingdom
Price: US$445.21 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First UK Edition (first printing), issued a year after the US edition which appeared under the title 'Creeps by Night', and included two stories which are omitted from this English edition. 8vo. 448pp. An un-noted variant binding of red cloth lettered in black at the spine and without the tipped-in slip noting the prior publication details of the John Collier story (Layman notes the more common binding of black cloth with orange backstrip lettering). The top edge dust soiled, and with some uneven discolouration to the cloth. Some spotting to half a dozen preliminary and concluding leaves, and the faint ghost of a former owner name to the front free endpaper. A good copy in a quite poor example of the uncommon dust wrapper (again, a variant, printed on yellow paperstock but with all of the lettering in black, not black and red. The original price of 5/= net is printed to the spine panel, under which is a green sticker with the text "Offered at 2'-"). The dust wrapper is toned, soiled, nicked, torn and chipped. Includes macabre contributions by William Faulkner ('A Rose for Emily'), John Collier ('Green Thoughts'), André Maurois (;The House;), Peter Fleming (;The Kill;), Philip MacDonald (;Ten O'Clock'), L.A.G.Strong ('Breakdown'), Conrad Aiken ('Mr. Arcularis'), H.P.Lovecraft ('The Music of Erich Zann'), and ten others, all bar the Collier story hitherto unprinted in bookform. Layman A5.2.a / Bonnell B34b. A respectable copy of this un-noted variant, which is difficult to locate in any dust wrapper.
Seller: Clearwater Books, London, United Kingdom
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1932. First U.K. Edition. Thick octavo; publisher's cloth in yellow dust jacket lettered in red and black; 448pp. General shelf wear, spine panel toned and ends chipped with minor loss of text, offsetting mid-panel from previously removed sticker, general soil, brief tape repair to verso, some foxing to textblock edges, else a Good to Very Good copy in the uncommon jacket. First published in the U.S. under the title "Creeps by Night." Includes "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, "The Music of Eric Zann" by H.P. Lovecraft, "The House" by Andre Maurois, and many others, "All previously unpublished in book form (except in one limited edition)" (upper jacket panel).
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Hammett, Dashiell (selected by). Modern Tales of Horror. Gollancz, London, 1932.
Price: US$1653.63 + shipping
Description: First UK Edition. Publisher's black boards with red spine lettering. Minor foxing to the fore-edge otherwise a fine copy in a very fine D/W priced 5/- net to the spine (as called for). Introduction by Dashiell Hammett. Stories never before published in book form by William Faulkner, John Collier, Robert Dean Frisbie, Andre Maurois, Peter Fleming, Philip Macdonald, Hanns Heinz Ewers, L.A.G. Strong, W.B. Seabrook, Irvin S. Cobb, Conrad Aiken, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen Vincent Benet, Donald Wandrei, W. Elwyn Backus, Paul Suter, Michael Joyce, Frank Belknap Long. Tipped-in label on free front endpaper reads as follows: "John Collier's story GREEN THOUGHTS was published in a limited edition by Messrs. Joiner & Steele in February, 1932, and is here reproduced by their courteous permission." What differentiates this copy from the norm is the stunning condition of the D/W with NO BROWNING whatsoever to the spine. A rare survivor and an exceptional copy. Photographs/scans available upon request.
Seller: James M Pickard, ABA, ILAB, PBFA., LEICESTER, United Kingdom