THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER - INSCRIBED TO JUANITA MESSICK

Chandler, Raymond

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1950

About this Item

First Printing, one of 8,000 copies. Octavo (21cm); beige cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in tan and pale yellow; yellowish-brown topstain; dustjacket; x,533,[1]pp. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper, a week after publication, to his secretary Juanita Messick: "For Juanita Messick / with my best / Raymond Chandler / La Jolla / Sept.26, 1950." Modest wear, some sunning and faint foxing to spine and board edges, tanning to text edges, occasional faint finger-soil to margins, a tiny stain to right edge of textblock, with a crack to the gutter at title page, and some thin cracks to rear pastedown; some pencil underlining and marks to text on pp.532-533 (presumed in Messick's hand); Very Good. In a supplied dustjacket designed by Boris Artzybasheff, unclipped (priced $3.50), showing some wear and creasing to spine ends and extremities, with a few small tears at spine and lower front flap fold; Very Good+, notably absent the usual fading to the sensitive colors on the spine panel. Housed in a custom clamshell case. A significant collection, containing 12 of Chandler's short stories which first appeared in the pages of Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, and The Saturday Review of Literature. Includes Chandler's oft-quoted and much-anthologized essay "The Simple Art of Murder," which first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly (1944). Messick (1909-1986) was Chandler's private secretary from 1950-54, hired after several other secretaries failed to gel with the author's difficult personality and work habits. After he would shape and re-shape drafts of his work into something palatable to him, he entrusted only Messick to re-type on full sheets; "After this, there would rarely be any substantive revision" (MacShane, The Life of Raymond Chandler, p.189). Beyond her skills as a secretary, she became indispensable to the Chandler's by acting as a sort of household manager who kept things in order and, most importantly, kept Chandler on task and working productively. She befriended his wife Cissy, and after her death, when Chandler became depressed and began drinking heavily, prevented several of his suicide attempts. A distinguished association copy of this Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title. Bruccoli A9.1.a; Hubin, p.76.

Seller Inventory # 7364

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER - INSCRIBED TO JUANITA MESSICK
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
• Publication Date: 1950
• Edition: First Edition.
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Association Copies
  • Mystery & Detective