
December 1934 – second issue
better image than previously posted

cover art by Rafael DeSoto
better image than previously posted
Frederick C. Davis, “Heads Will Fall”
Norbert Davis, “Murder in the Red” (Bail-Bond Dodd)
Dale Clark, “Me and My Gun”
William Edward Hayes, “The Size of a Grave”
Leslie T. White, “Ace in the Hole”
Hugh B. Cave, “Loose Loot” (Officer Coffey)

cover art by A. Rose
~ Eustace Hale Ball, “The Trail of the Scarlet Fox”, part 2 of 6 parts with various subtitles, BM debut, 2nd of 13 appearances in BM
~ Drayton Dunster, “Her Gold and Her Pearls”, 2nd of 9 stories in BM
~ Eliza Mae Harvey, “The Last Snow”, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ W.H. Holmes, “Creeping Death”, ‘A Complete Mystery Novelette’, 1st of 3 stories in BM
~ Francis James, “Sinister Images”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman (‘the young Central Office Man’) with Police Chief Shannon, 1st of 4 parts, 3rd of 20 appearances in BM
~ A. Kandel, “Eulogy on a Rare Theme”, ‘brief-brief’, author’s sole appearance in BM
~ Roy L. McCardell, “A Million A Year”, last of 4 parts, 4th of 5 appearances in BM
~ Marr Murray, “Hades and Return”, ‘South Sea story‘, author’s only appearance in BM
~ Charles Somerville, “After Ten Thousand Miles”, 1st of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, ‘(see pp. 38-39 for data on CS); no effort has been made to sustain the supposed veracity of series; see also under Joseph Gallomb, Glenn G. Gravatt, & Robert Lee Heiser’, 1st of 49 total articles in BM
~ Horace Winston Stokes, “The Devil’s Hollow”, author’s only appearance in BM
~ Joe Taylor, “The Fixer”, 4th of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, billed as fiction, 4th of 13th appearances in BM
~ N.H. Wilson, “The Head of Clampini”, ‘Daytime story’, author’s sole appearance in BM
©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

better image than previously posted
Day Keene, “The Corpse That Ran Away”
Carl Rathjen, “The Pied Piper of Destruction”
Donald G. Cormack, “There’s More Room in the Coffin!“
Joe Kent, “The Bleeding Sosibi”
Fredric Brown, “Death in the Dark”
Francis K. Allan, “Murder Has a Voice”

1958 Hamish Hamilton, true 1st edition

1958 Houghton Mifflin hardcover


1959 Brazilian edition in Portuguese

1960 Cardinal reissue – cover art by William Rose
better image than previously posted




1961 Australian edition from Horwitz – cover art by Theo Batten

1965 British edition – cover design by Alan Spain

1968 Pyramid reissue – cover art by Joseph Lombardero



1975 Penguin edition – cover design by James Tormey

1977 Ballantine reissue, 1st print (owner’s copy) – cover art by Richard Waldrep

later 1977 Ballantine reissue – cover art by Richard Waldrep


1979 Pan/Macmillan reissue – cover photo by Peter Williams


late 8os UK Penguin reissue






1999 Scandinavian edition (unsure of country)


2004 French graphic novel edition

[updated 3/8/26]

1953 Hammish Hamilton UK hardcover, the true first edition of this novel

1954 Houghton Mifflin hardcover, first US edition – (owner’s copy)
cover illustration by Lorraine
final Marlowe novel, an American classic and winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel

1954 Hammish Hamilton book club edition

August 1955 Pocket reissue, 2nd printing – (owner’s copy)
cover art by Tom Dunn


1964 Pocket reissue – cover art by Harry Bennett


1971 Ballantine reissue – cover art by Richard Waldrep

1971 Penguin UK reissue – cover design by James Tormey

1972 Ballantine reissue – cover art by Tom Adams (owner’s copy)

1973 Ballantine movie tie-in reissue (owner’s copy)

1979 Pan/Macmillan reissue – cover photo by Richard Williams



1988 UK Vintage/Black Lizard reissue

1988 Vintage/Black Lizard reissue

1988 Vintage/Black Lizard reissue




1949 Hamish Hamilton UK hardcover, the true first by three months – cover art by C.W. Bacon

1949 Houghton Mifflin hc, 1st edition – cover art by Boris Artzybasheff (owner’s copy)

1949 Pocket reissue – cover art by James Neil Boyle

1950 Pocket reissue – cover art by William Shoyer (owner’s copy)


1957 Pocket reissue – cover art by Charles Binger



1971 Ballantine reissue – cover art by Tom Adams (owner’s copy)

1976 Ballantine reissue, 3rd print – cover art by Richard Waldrep (owner’s copy)


1979 Pan/Macmillan reissue – cover photo by Colin Thomas

1988 Vintage/ Black Lizard reissue

