The Lady in the Lake.
Alfred A. Knopf, 1943. First edition, first printing. Very slight lean, small spot to fore edge, gentle pressing to spine tips and front corners, still near fine in near fine, faintly toned dust jacket with very shallow chipping to corners, in mylar cover. Item #214527
Known for cannibalizing his short stories, Chandler drew upon his previously published "Bay City Blues," "No Crime in the Mountains," and the eponymously named "The Lady of the Lake."
Fueled by his patriotism and written shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Chandler makes several references within the narrative to America's involvement in WWII. Where most authors fill the back of the dust jacket's with accolades, endorsements, and self-publicity, Chandler uses the whole of the rear jacket pleading for his readers to purchase War Bonds and Stamps and in so doing, "buy a share in the miracle" that is funding the war.
It is rare to find a copy of this most notable and scarce work (only 6,000 in the first print run) in such a beautiful wartime jacket.
Bruccoli, A 4.1.a.
Price: $7,000.00