Eric Ambler. The Mask of Dimitrios. Hodder And Stoughton, London, 1939.

Price: US$975.00 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: Hodder and Stoughton Limited [1939]., London, 1939. Octavo, pp. [1-8] 9-319 [320], rare in first edition, only a handful of copies exist in dj, this copy was custom bound in full black crushed Levant morocco by Alan Grace of Grace Bindery once of Surrey UK, later St. Simons Island Georgia and is signed by Eric Ambler, on a note tipped onto the title page. This is a chilling and compellilng mystery so well written, it shall capitvate its reader. Ambler like Chandler was a genius of the genre Most copies of this UK edition were lost when Nazi bombs destroyed the Hodder & Stoughton warehouse. Published later in the U.S. as A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS. Basis for the 1944 film featuring Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre;and Faye Emerson and Zachary Scott with a screenplay credited to Frank Gruber. A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone. Pronzini and Muller, 1001 Midnights, pp. 18-9. To this day, the 1944 film is a noir classic, with Peter Lorre a mystery and crime novelist on the trail of the mysterious Dimitrios. Sydney Greenstreet is fabulous as well.

Seller: Hirschfeld Galleries, Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.

AMBLER, ERIC. THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS. Hodder & Stoughton Limited, [1939]., London, 1939.

Price: US$18750.00 + shipping

Description: First edition. Signed and inscribed on the title page in ink by the author to fellow mystery writer and journalist Wayne Warga, "Wayne Warga from Eric Ambler. Los Angeles, 25 February 1982. Dear Wayne, This must be the rarest of my first editions. I'm glad to have seen it again. Eric." This copy also has the bookplate of the renown mystery collector, Adrian Homer Goldstone, which is affixed to the front pastedown sheet. Near fine, bright, square copy in dust jacket with light professional restoration by an expert paper conservationist. Housed in a cloth clamshell case with a leather label on the spine and titles stamped in gold gilt. A rare book in the first edition as most copies were lost when Nazi bombs destroyed the Hodder & Stoughton warehouse during World War II. A Haycraft/Queen cornerstone of detective and mystery fiction and the basis of the classic film starring Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. As the most recent former owner of this book, Wayne Warga was the youngest editor at LIFE MAGAZINE at age 25, he reported on John F. Kennedy's race for the Presidency, and went on to cover the Civil Rights movement for the magazine. For many years, Warga was one of the leading writers at the Los Angeles Times where he did in-depth articles and features on writers and people in the arts. Later, he became a mystery novelist, creating three well-received bibliomysteries: "Hardcover," "Fatal Impressions," and "Singapore Transfer," featuring Los Angeles rare book dealer, Jeffrey Dean. A choice item with an impressive provenance.

Seller: BUCKINGHAM BOOKS, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA, GREENCASTLE, PA, U.S.A.