Product Type
Condition
Binding
Collectible Attributes
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Published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1943
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hard Cover. Condition: Fair. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. First Edition. The final Thatcher Colt mystery. Oursler wrote the series using the Abbot pseudonym, and reportedly this was ghost written by Oscar Schisgall (Hubin.) Ex-rental library with a stamp on the title page. Bumped, hinges cracked. Jacket has been trimmed and attached to a stiff paper backing with white trim, flaps glued to the pastedowns, and clear laminate on the spine. Price intact. Ex-Library.
Published by The John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, Toronto, 1948
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
Octavo, pebbled black cloth, stamped in red and gold. First edition. "True crime, mostly somewhat dramatized." - Hubin (1994), p. 1. A nearly fine copy; no dust jacket. (#118263).
Published by Popular Library, New York, 1948
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Popular Library 159. The fall from the high rings is the latest accident to plague the circus, and now Thatcher Colt is investigating murder. First paperback printing. Basis for the 1933 movie "The Circus Queen Murder" starring Adolphe Menjou as Colt. Light wear at the edges with the laminate beginning to peel.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, N.Y., 1935
Seller: MURDER BY THE BOOK, Warwick, RI, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good-Near Fine. First Edition Thus. 1st Grosset reprint edition. Orange cloth covers show some wear at extremeties, very lightly soiled else a very good - near fine copy, in home-made acetate dust wrapper. LOCKED ROOM MYSTERY. Adey #4. "Thatcher Colt tries a new kind of informer, one with a link to the Great Beyond. Mrs. Lynn, a medium, claims she heard the "voice" of a young dead girl whose body has allegedly been cut to pieces then sunk. Fraud? That's what Colt (and the reader) think at first, but both have to reconsider their opinion when the corpse turns up right where Mrs. Lynn - oh, sorry, Madeline Swift - told us it was. Despite its paranormal overtones, "Startled Lady" reads rather like an early procedural. Realism, at least by Golden Age standards, is the greatest strength of this book. Abbot obviously did a lot of research on forensics and procedures, providing a sometimes fascinating testimony on police methods in the thirties. But this realism is also applied to the subject as well as the treatment which is grimmer than usual back then. Abbot is not afraid to handle some then-and-now controversial issues such as political corruption, religious zealotry, family oppression (you won't forget the Swifts) and even sex. Colt's final conclusions are far ahead of their time. Book.
Published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1937
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hard Cover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. First Edition. Thatcher Colt investigates murder, reportedly based on the true crime William Desmond Taylor case. Bumped and rubbed with loss to the corners and spine ends. Spine darkened, front hinge loose, rear cracked. Previous owner's name, dated 5/19/37, on the front pastedown.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good-. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good-. Fourth Printing. 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 525 pages; Signed and inscribed on the front endpage by the author to fellow novelist T. Everitt Harre, dated April 1935. Soundly bound copy in original dust jacket. Binding a little cocked in the spine. Beige paper dust jacket is toned and lightly shelf soiled with spine panel sunned; title lettering remains bold but lighter color printing of the author name is considerably faded. Jacket is nicked at edges with several short closed tears and shallow stress creases at edges. Shallow damp stain to the top edge of a handful of pages at front. Inscribed association copy. VG-/VG-; Signed by Author.
Published by Covici-Friede, 1932
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. first edition, some scuff marks on the cover, mild amount of wear around the edges of the cover and the spine, some scuff marks on the tail of the book.
Published by Neufeld & Henius, Berlin 1932 (ca), 1932
Seller: Abrahamschacht-Antiquariat Schmidt, Freiberg, Germany
Book
8° Leinen. ohne Schutzumschlag Gebrauchsspuren am Einband und Block Block sauber und fest ohne Einträge Einband berieben und etwas fleckig 224 Deutsch 450g.
Published by Covici-Friede, New York, 1932
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
First Edition
Condition: Very Good -. New York: Covici-Friede, 1932. First Edition. Octavo; publisher's yellow cloth lettered in red; xi,[1],275pp. Cloth a bit rubbed at corners and spine ends with brief exposure, the whole rather soiled, faint ring stain to front cover and brief spot of white residue to rear, spine toned, faint foxing to textblock edges; overall Good to Very Good, internally clean and sound. The fourth in the Thatcher Colt detective series, in which Josie LaTour, "Queen of the Air," falls to her death from the acrobatic rings during opening night in New York City.
Published by Farrar and Rinehart, New York and Toronto, 1943
Seller: MURDER BY THE BOOK, Warwick, RI, U.S.A.
First Edition
Cloth. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Graves, Robert (illustrator). 1st Edition. First edition. Light blue cloth with light foxing on page edges and darkening on inner hinges from glue residue bleeding through, else near fine in dust jacket, chipped at spine head, sunned, scratch at front, and wear at folds. Jacket design by Robert Graves. Rear panel has plea from Oursler on the necessity of buying War Stamps and Bonds. Also, on rear flap a great plug for the book by none other than J. Edgar Hoover himself! Adey #5, LOCKED ROOM. Thatcher Colt, New York City Police Commissioner, has been responsible for the conviction of a villain who poisoned his boss and mentor and made off with two million never-located dollars. The evening he is to be executed, the poisoner asks Colt to visit with him. He warns Colt that an even greater villain -- a Dr. Baldwin --who kills for sport and who kills undetectably is lurking about ready to do untold damage. The poisoner is executed, with Colt looking on, and then Colt begins an unsuccessful three-year search for Baldwin. One day the former warden of the prison at which the poisoner was executed rushes into Colt s office to tell him that he has met Dr. Baldwin, that the poisoner s executioners are dying off, and that the warden is to be next. Book.
Published by Covici-Friede, 1932
Seller: Visible Voice Books, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Covici-Friede January 1932 Binding: Hardcover.
Published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1931
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Early reprint. Two bodies are discoverd in a dinghy, a clergyman and an attractive young lady. Reportedly based on the widely publicized Hall-Mills murder case in 1922. Rubbed at the edges with a small bit of loss to the spine ends. Binding square and solid.
Published by Popular Library, N.Y., 1950
Seller: MURDER BY THE BOOK, Warwick, RI, U.S.A.
First Edition
Printed Wrappers. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 1st paperback edition, October 1950. Good-girl cover art, Vintage Paperback. Popular Library #286. Listed in Gary Lovisi's book: Dames, Dolls & Delinquents: A Collector's Guide to Sexy Pulp Fiction Paperbacks. Reading crease, else a bright tight copy with paper toning very minimal. The Murder of the Clergyman s Mistress was the second of the Thatcher Colt mysteries. Thatcher Colt is the New York Police Commissioner. Police Commissioners do not usually involve themselves in the actual investigation of crime but Colt is the exception. The novel opens with the discovery of two bodies in a dinghy. One of the deceased is an Episcopal clergyman, the other is an attractive young woman. Thatcher Colt wants to preserve the crime scene intact so he has the dinghy, with the two bodies still in it, transported to the city morgue. Colt is in possession of several important clues although they are clues that everybody else seems inclined to dismiss as being obviously of no importance. This is very much a story that adheres to the puzzle-plot formula. And the author proves to be very adept indeed at that formula. All Vintage Paperbacks come sealed in 2.5 mil plastic bag and taped closed with removable tape which will not tear the covers if it sticks to them when the book is removed. Vintage Paperback.
Published by Covici Friede, N.Y., 1932
Seller: MURDER BY THE BOOK, Warwick, RI, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good-Near Fine. No Jacket. First Edition. 1st edition. Yellow cloth shows some soiling otherwise a good, tight copy with very little wear. LOCKED ROOM MYSTERY, Adey #2. Laid in is a laminated copy of the dust jacket reduced so as to be used as a bookmark. The book is now housed in a home-made acetate dust wrapper. "The circus was playing Madison Square Garden and Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt was there looking into some "accidents" that had befallen the troupe and led to one death. Some of the star acts had received letters warning them not to perform opening night, which happened to be Friday the Thirteenth. All the artists insisted they would go on anyway. "The Queen of The Air," Josie LaTour plunges to her death from the high rings and it doesn't take Colt long to figure it's murder. The suspects are many. From the husband, family finances are tight and she has a big insurance policy, to the catcher in the act who has loved for years, since before she married her husband, to the rich man that owned majority interest in the circus and wanted her, she not him. Then there's the personal maid, a former well-to-do lady who was on the end of LaTour's high temper more than once. As was her equipment manager. Colt keeps dogging along checking out every clue. The district attorney is concentrating his efforts on the husband and his ex-wife, believing them to be the guilty parties to the exclusion of all other evidence." -- Goodreads. This copy, although not marked as such, comes from the George Cloos collection of detective fiction. Book.
Published by World, 1943
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. first edition, light amount of wear along the edges of the cover.
Published by Dell, New York, 1945
Seller: MLC Books, Northfield, MN, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Dell 88, mapback, with cover art by George A. Frederiksen. Reportedly ghost written by Oscar Schisgall (Hubin.) Thatcher Colt investigates murder at a country house. Rubbed with creases at the corners, spine sunned. Binding appears to have been reglued.
Published by Covici-Friede, New York, 1932
Seller: Lok Man Rare Books. ABA/ILAB, Central, Hong Kong
First Edition
Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. First Edition. -- Condition: Near fine, light soiling to covers, and faint spotting to upper edge of text block, in near fine dust jacket with small areas of colour touch up to corners and spine ends with corresponding strips of restoration to verso. -- Details: A rare and superb example of the fourth Thatcher Colt mystery in the dust jacket designed by Arthur Hawkins. As the circus prepares to play in Madison Garden, Colt and his trusted sidekick (and story narrator) Tony Abbott enquire about a series of accidents that have occurred amongst the troupe, including one death, letters are being received by the main stars warning them against performing on the Friday 13th opening night. 'Thatcher Colt, Commissioner of Police for New York City, a dashing figure, handsome, wealthy, cultured and well connected. The Colt books are characteristic Golden Age products, complex and clever, designed to deceive and, in doing so, to satisfy.' - Cooper & Pike. Oursler (1893-1952) was a journalist, playwright, author and editor, as well as a convert to Catholicism, who wrote several religious books among them The Greatest Story Ever Told, published in 1949 - using his given name while authoring detective fiction under the nom de plume of Anthony Abbot. (Oursler also co-wrote with his son Will the fact-based book that inspired the hit film Boys Town [1938] starring Spencer Tracy.) Oursler's/Abbot's most famous sleuth, New York Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt, is clearly modeled after Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, by way of S. S. Van Dine's Philo Vance. Interesting to note that Oursler prefaced many of his titles with 'About the . . ' to keep them near the top of alphabetized book lists. [Turner Classic Movies] The UK edition was published a year later in 1933 by Collins, London. -- References: Reilly, 'Twentieth-Century Crime and Mystery Writers' (1980), 12. Cooper & Pike, 'Detective Fiction', 14. -- Octavo (book size 20.8x14.4cm), pp. [6] vii-xi [1] 275 [1]. In publisher's yellow cloth, spine and upper board lettered in red, all edges trimmed. Dust jacket priced '$2.00' to upper corner of front flap, both flaps with publisher's decorative trim to corners, and small areas of colour touch up to corners and spine ends with corresponding strips of restoration to verso. --.