Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep.. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1939.

Price: US$7000.00 + shipping

Description: First edition of Chandler’s first and most famous novel, with the rarely found original dust jacket. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Bruccoli A1.1.a. A very sharp example. The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler’s first novel, “was a masterpiece right out of the gate and introduced a new kind of detective story, build on the hard-boiled foundation laid by Dashiell Hammett” (Johnson I:44). The novel was published when Chandler was 51, after years of apprenticeship in pulp magazines. “It’s my ambition,” he once said, “to write a mystery story without one word of explanation at the end. In The Big Sleep I almost succeeded.” This was the novel that announced Chandler’s literary coming-of-age and defined the mythic status of his wise-cracking detective Philip Marlowe. “Chandler is fun to read,” commented writer George Higgins. “He was also one hell of a writer, and those are hard to find” (Hardboiled Mystery Writers, 81-3). A Haycraft Queen cornerstone novel. William Faulkner co-authored the screenplay adaptation of The Big Sleep for Howard Hawks’ 1946 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.

Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1939.

Price: US$20000.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Raymond Chandler on a typed letter laid into the book. A beautiful copy. This is the TRUE FIRST EDITION with the words "FIRST EDITION" printed on the copyright page. This ORIGINAL dustjacket is vibrant in color with minor wear to the edges. This First Issue dustjacket has the $2.00 printed price present with 6 titles printed on the back panel of the dustjacket. The book is in excellent condition. The binding is tight, with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a wonderful copy SIGNED by the author. We buy SIGNED Chandler First Editions.

Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.