"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. "
— Oscar Wilde
Raymond Chandler | First Editions
1888 - 1959
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. At the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive, during the Great Depression. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures. In 1958, Chandler was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is considered to be a founder of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction, along with other Black Mask writers. Three of Chandler's works have long been considered masterpieces: Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953). The Long Goodbye was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key [...] to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery".
See below our stock of Raymond Chandler First Editions, fine bindings, and signed copies.
Results 1 - 14 (of 14)
Killer in the Rain. Being: Killer in the Rain; The Man who liked Dogs; The Curtain; Try the Girl; Mandarin's Jade; Bay City Blues; The Lady in the Lake; No Crime in the Mountains. With an Introduction by Philip Durham.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1964. [Crime stories] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.332. Publisher's red cloth in pictorial dust-wrapper designed by John Andrew. No inscriptions or price-clipping, top edge spotted, jacket a little handled and toned. Very good indeed. First British appearance in book form- contains short stories published... More about Killer in the Rain. Being: Killer in the Rain; The Man who liked Dogs; The Curtain; Try the Girl;...
Killer In The Rain. Being: Killer in the Rain; The Man who liked Dogs; The Curtain; Try the Girl; Mandarin's Jade; Bay City Blues; The Lady in the Lake; No Crime in the Mountains. With an Introduction by Philip Durham.
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1964. [Crime stories] FIRST EDITION (stated). Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.394. Publisher's blue cloth in pictorial dust-wrapper designed by Rob Howard, priced at $5.50. Contents and page edges clean, jacket with a little edgewear and a crease to the spine panel, neat tape reinforcement to... More about Killer In The Rain. Being: Killer in the Rain; The Man who liked Dogs; The Curtain; Try the Girl;...
The Big Sleep.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1939. FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo, pp.302. Publisher's black cloth with red titles and trim. Edges a little toned, joints a touch rubbed. A clean, near fine example. The author's first book, introducing Philip Marlowe; cool, sharp, handsome - and bitterly alone. A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone. Chandler's writing was... More about The Big Sleep
Farewell, My Lovely.
New York, NY: Alfred Knopf, 1940. [Crime novel] FIRST EDITION. Small Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[viii]; 275; [1], blank; [1], 'Note'. Publisher's russet cloth blocked in blue, dark blue top edge. A clean copy of the book with no inscriptions, very faint scuff to pastedown, tiny bookplate to rear pastedown... More about Farewell, My Lovely
The High Window.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1943. [Detective Fiction] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp,236. Hand-bound in deep red burgundy calf over matching cloth sides, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with raised bands. One or two minor marks within, exterior as new. A near fine copy, in an attractive recent leather... More about The High Window
The Little Sister.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1949. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth, gilt titles to spine, pictorial dust-jacket designed by C.W. Bacon, priced at 8s. 6d. net. Contents and binding very lightly marked. Jacket with a little rubbing and wear, spine almost imperceptibly sunned. Overall an attractive... More about The Little Sister
The Little Sister.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1949. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION, ADVANCE REVIEW COPY. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth, gilt titles to spine, pictorial dust-jacket designed by C.W. Bacon, priced at 8s. 6d. net. Some dustiness to edges, jacket with a few small nicks and tears, lightly soiled. Hamish Hamilton headed... More about The Little Sister
Playback.
London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd., 1958. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.207; [1]. Elegantly hand-bound in black half oasis morocco, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with raised bands, cloth sides, top edge gilt, original cloth spine bound in at rear. A near fine copy in a smart modern binding... More about Playback
Playback.
London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd. 1958. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. Elegantly hand-bound in half red calf, with gilt titles to spine, traditional raised bands, cloth sides. A little spotting/toning to edge of text block else a clean copy in an attractive recent leather binding. The true first printing of the final Philip... More about Playback
Playback.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1958. FIRST UK EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION. Octavo, pp. 208. Publisher's red cloth in original dust jacket. Some toning to flyleaf, jacket a little nicked and rubbed, one tear at fore-edge, price-clipped; very good indeed. The true first printing of the final Philip Marlowe story, which precedes the... More about Playback
Playback.
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1958. [Crime Fiction] FIRST UK EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION. Octavo, pp.208. Publisher's red cloth in original dust jacket correctly priced at 12s.6d. Book is near fine, jacket very good with some creases and tears, chipped to crown. The true first printing of the final Philip Marlowe story, which... More about Playback
Spanish Blood.
Cleveland, OH, and New York, NY: The World Publishing Company, 1946. [Short stories] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.221; [3]. Publisher's black cloth blocked in red to spine and upper, top edge red, striking dust-jacket designed by Hoffman. Textblock toned as expected. cloth lightly rubbed, jacket shows very well... More about Spanish Blood
Five Sinister Characters.
New York, Avon Book Co. 1945. FIRST EDITION. 8vo. Publisher's pictorial paper covers. Very good copy, pages browned as usual. A collection of five short stories. Bruccoli [A8.1a] Cooper & Pike; Detective Fiction p75-78. More about Five Sinister Characters
Contribute 'A Golfing Nightmare' and 'The Terrible Dr. No' to Encore; The Sunday Times Book, Second Year. Edited by Leonard Russell.
London: Micheal Joseph. 1963. FIRST EDITION. Large 8vo. Pp.406. Publisher's red cloth with original pictorial dust-jacket. Lightly worn, spine of jacket frayed at head and tail; near fine. A particularly nice copy A collection of outstanding articles contributed to the Sunday Times, this is the FIRST EDITION in book-form. Ian... More about Contribute 'A Golfing Nightmare' and 'The Terrible Dr. No' to Encore; The Sunday Times Book,...
Results 1 - 14 (of 14)