Rawson, Clayton (1942) ‘No Coffin for the Corpse’, US signed and inscribed first edition

Clayton Rawson (1942) ‘No Coffin for the Corpse‘, US first edition, first printing, published by Little, Brown and Company. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: “For Walter and Lulie with thanks for the browsing I did in Walt’s library at Gray where I got the idea for this book Clayt“. The recipient are Walter Brown and his wife Litzska (Lulie). Brown was a prolific writer and a magician (like the Clayton’s detective Merlini). He is known mainly for being the inventor of the hugely popular pulp character of “The Shadow”. In 1936 the Browns purchased a winter house at Gray, Maine, and moved there with their significant library. Brown and Clayton, one of the four founding members of the Mystery Writers of America and an amateur magician himself, were friends until Clayton’s death in 1971. Eight years later Brown wrote a passionate introduction to a new edition of the first Great Merlini mystery, Death from a Top Hat, published by Gregg Press (Boston, 1979).

Condition: The book square and tight, with the spine lightly faded and spine tips gently pushed,  boards a bit dirty and minor foxing to the text block edges, pages clean and unmarked. The unclipped dustjacket showing the “$2.00” price on front flap, is slightly worn at joints and edges, chipped at spine tips and with a small hole affecting the “C” of “Corpse”, but still bright and colourful. Very good book in an about a very good dustjacket.

A nice copy of the scarce fourth and last Great Merlini mystery with a brilliant association and an inscription which throws light on the book’s birth.