| Cover Art:
The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories
Tower Books T334 (1945)
Jacket design by Leo Manso.
[The Tower Books editions of the Hammett story collections are the
only hardback editions; the Bestseller, Mercury and Dell editions are all
softcover editions. This title is the only Tower edition in my collection.]
A Man Called Spade Dell #90 (1945)
Front: Gerald Gregg [not illustrated]
Map Back: Ruth Belew.
A Man Called Spade Dell #411 (1950)
Front: Robert Stanley
Map Back: Ruth Belew
[Lyles notes that Dell #411 reuses the map back from #90.
The model for Sam Spade is the artist himself, Robert Stanley.
The model for the woman at the bottom of the stairs is his wife, Rhoda
Stanley (see her on the cover of Creeping Siamese).
The Stanleys can be seen on many Dell covers].. |
Publishing History:
First edition: The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories,
Bestseller Mystery No. B50 (1944) first printing.
First edition: They Can Only Hang You Once and Other Stories,
A Mercury Mystery (1949) second printing.
Second edition: The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories,
Tower Books (1945).
Third edition: A Man Called Spade and Other Stories, Dell #90
(1945) [omits two stories: 'Nightshade' and 'The Judge Laughed Last'] first
printing.
Third edition: Dell #411 (1950) second printing first state
Third edition: Dell #452 (1950) second printing second state.
Fourth edition: Jonathan Press Mystery J. 36 (1948). |
| Originally entitled The Adventures of Sam Spade (1st
edition: Spivak, 1944) the third edition, illustrated above (Dell #411)
changes the title and loses two stories: 'Nightshade' and 'The Judge Laughed
Last'. Dell's first printing of this collection was issued in 1945
(Dell #90). A second printing of the third edition was issued in
1950 (Dell #411), and a second state (Dell #452). The artwork for
the front cover illustrated here is by Robert Stanley who is also the model
for Spade (Stanley's wife, Rhoda, is the model for the woman). |
