Babcock, Dwight V. THE GORGEOUS GHOUL. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1941. Octavo, cloth. First edition. The second of Babcock’s three mystery novels, all of which featured crime journalist Hannah Van Doren. Babcock was a prolific contributor to the pulps, especially BLACK MASK, and later a Hollywood script writer. A fine copy in very good dust jacket with light wear to corners and spine ends and some age-darkening to spine panel and along flap folds.
Daly, Carroll John. BETTER CORPSES: A RACE WILLIAMS STORY. London: Robert Hale Limited, [1940]. Octavo, pp. [1-6] 7-286 [287-288: blank], publisher’s black cloth stamped in red and silver. First edition. “When better corpses are made, Race Williams will make them” (p. 186). The last Race Williams book, a fix-up novel incorporating the three-part Morse story arc that first appeared in DIME DETECTIVE in 1935 and 1936 featuring Daly’s violent tough-guy detective, Race Williams, who “never bumped off a guy what didn’t need it” and the Flame (The Girl with the Criminal Mind), “a woman of good — a woman of evil. Take your choice.” Carroll John Daly (1889-1958), one of the fathers of the modern hard-boiled private eye and an important BLACK MASK writer, “is not known for literary niceties — his style can best be described as crude but effective … Characterization is minimal and action is everything” (Crider and Pronzini). Race Williams was Daly’s most successful creation, appearing in about 70 stories and eight novels. Lee Server (Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers, 2014) has called Race Williams “the single most popular private eye in the history of the pulps.” Cloth worn and scuffed, slight spine lean, half title leaf and final blank tanned, a sound, good copy in a pictorial 8/3 dust jacket with touch of wear at edges, mainly lower spine end, and mild tanning to spine panel and along rear flap fold. Stunning jacket. From the library of a well-known mystery writer with his library stamp on the front paste-down. Rare. There is no equivalent U.S. edition.
Burnett, W[illiam] R[iley]. LITTLE CAESAR. London: Jonathan Cape, [1929]. Octavo, pp. [1-6] 7-283 [284: blank] 285-288: glossary, publisher’s red cloth, spine panel stamped in gold, rear panel stamped in blind with publisher’s symbol. First British edition. Classic crime novel that chronicles the rise and fall of a Chicago gangster. Made into a memorable feature film (1930) starring Edward G. Robinson. Pronzini and Muller, 1001 Midnights, The Aficionado’s Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction, pp. 101-102. A review copy sent to the DAILY HERALD, with publisher’s review slip laid in and a clipping of the review affixed to the front paste-down. The reviewer’s copy, with “A.L.B.,” in ink at the upper fore-edge corner of the front free end paper dated 29.6.29. Inked name on the front free end paper. Spine age-darkened, a very good copy in good dust jacket illustrated by Lee Elliott with overall toning to the white background, light abrasions to lower front panel and spine panel, vertical crease to the rear panel, abrasion with loss along rear flap fold. A presentable copy of the scarce UK edition. From the library of a well-known mystery writer with his library stamp on the front paste-down.
SMB Noir 