London: Vallancey Press Limted, no date [1945]. [Detective Mystery] FIRST SEPARATE EDITION. Slim octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.16. Illustrated stiff card covers designed by 'Jeffrey', original price 6d. A little dustiness and handling, lightly rubbed; near fine. The first stand-alone printing of this famous short story which had only previously appeared in The Strand Magazine in the UK (1936). The story was included in the US-only collection 'The Regatta Mystery' (Dodd, 1939), and would not appear in a UK book-form edition until 'Thirteen for Luck!' (Collins, 1966). A scarce item - no copies appear in book auction records and only one copy in library searches (BL copy). Item #55238

Price: £2,000.00