Item #1647 HIGH SIERRA - ADVANCE COPY. W. R. Burnett.

HIGH SIERRA - ADVANCE COPY

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1940. First Edition. Scarce advance copy of one of Burnett's best-known novels, the story of a hardened criminal just out of prison, a heist gone bad, and a stand-off with police high in the snow-capped Sierra's. Basis for two superb adaptations: the 1941 film noir directed by Raoul Walsh, with a screenplay co-written by Burnett and John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, and the 1955 Stuart Heisler film starring Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Lon Chaney and Shelley Winters. Advance copies produced by Knopf from this period were poorly made and extremely fragile, with the wrappers prone to separation; the present example is well-preserved, the best of the two we've seen for this title. The Dark Page, Vol.1, p.38; Vol.2, p.22; Hubin, p.58. Item #1647

Octavo (19.25cm); yellow wrappers, with titling, publisher's synopsis and date of publication printed in navy blue on front wrapper; 292pp, [2]. "SAMPLE COPY - NOT FOR SALE" faintly rubber-stamped to top edge of text (presumed by publisher); light toning and wear to spine and extremities, faint, scattered foxing to wrappers and text edges, with a small diagonal crease to lower right corner of front wrapper; binding is sound, with text clean throughout - Very Good+.

Price: $1,250.00

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