Hammett's debut, in the scarce d.j.

Hammett's debut, in the scarce d.j. New York, 1929 HAMMETT, Dashiell (1894-1961). Red Harvest . New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929. First edition of Hammett's first book, in dust jacket . Narrated by the Continental Op, Hammett's first novel begins with the mysterious murder of a newspaper publisher in Poisonville, a mining town in the American West. Red Harvest, first published in February 1929, was quickly followed by The Dain Curse that July, and The Maltese Falcon in February the following year. Red Harvest saw its second printing in March 1930, just after The Maltese Falcon appeared. This copy is in a second printing dust jacket, which retains the $2.50 price on its front flap and adds publisher's copy on the front flap, blurbs for The Dain Curse and The Maltese Falcon on the rear flap, and three reviews—from The Bookman , The Outlook , and the Chicago Post— on the rear panel. See Layman A1.1.a. Octavo. Publisher's deep red cloth stamped in black and yellow, green top edge (hint of fading to spine); dust jacket (light soiling; some chipping and wear to extremities and spine, with small nick to front panel over the m's in "Hammett"; adhesive reinforcement at flaps and to spine, mainly on verso); custom box.