The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 1945 Pocket Books Paperback with Dust Wrapper

🔍 **Dashiell Hammett “The Maltese Falcon” — First Paperback Edition with Original Dust Wrapper, Pocket Books 1945**
*Fourth printing, February 1945, complete and unabridged*

**HISTORICAL CONTEXT**

Originally serialized in Black Mask magazine in 1929 and published in book form by Alfred A. Knopf the following year, “The Maltese Falcon” is widely regarded as Hammett’s finest work and one of the defining novels of the hard-boiled detective genre. The Pocket Books edition of 1944 was among the first mass-market paperbacks to bring this classic to a wider audience.

**THE BOOK**

Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer take on a case for three women who arrive at their San Francisco office one after another, each claiming to be the secretary of a man named Joel Cairo. When Archer is found dead and Spade becomes the prime suspect, he uncovers a conspiracy involving a stolen jewel-encraved black bird statue worth a fortune — and several more dead bodies. Hammett’s lean, dialogue-driven prose and razor-sharp plotting made this novel a landmark in American crime fiction.

**COVER ART AND DESIGN**

Front cover illustration by Stanley Meltzoff depicts a dramatic scene of two hands reaching toward a shadowy silhouette against a vibrant orange and yellow sunset gradient. The spine features “SAM SPADE AND THE BLACK BIRD” in a blue band above the number “268,” with the title in flowing white script against orange, and “POCKET BOOK EDITION COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED” on a yellow band at the base. The interior pages are cream-colored with distinctive red-stained edges. The printing history page confirms this is the fourth printing of the Pocket Books edition, following issues in July 1944, November 1944, and January 1945.

**WHY IT MATTERS**

– Pocket Book No. 268, fourth printing dated February 1945
– Cover art by Stanley Meltzoff, one of Pocket Books’ most recognizable illustrators
– Originally published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1930; adapted into the landmark 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart
– The Pocket Books edition was among the first mass-market paperback releases of this title
– Complete and unabridged text, 20 chapters as originally published

**FOR COLLECTORS**

Finding a 1945 Pocket Books edition of “The Maltese Falcon” with the original dust wrapper still intact is uncommon — paperback dust jackets were rarely preserved, and most were discarded by readers decades ago. This copy has the wrapper protected in an archival sleeve and the pages remain clean and readable, making it a solid example of one of the most important titles in early mass-market paperback publishing.

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**CONDITION:**
Book: Good plus with a solid binding, no torn, folded or loose pages, no writing. Has some fairly heavy creasing about mid-way down the spine, book closes flat, tinted block edges show some sunning. Inside front and back covers, there is the remnants of where the dust jacket had originally be glued to the book – I do not know if the publisher did that or if an overzealous owner did. Artwork on the covers is bright.
Jacket: Acceptable to good condition, large loss along the middle of the spine, chipping at spine head, no writing, creased with some chipping along front bottom edge. Backside of flaps show the reverse of the glue action mentioned in book description. Now carefully protected in an archival sleeve.
See accompanying images for full condition details.

Not a perfect copy, but still very specials considering this was the books first appearance in paperback form and the original dust wrapper is still present.

ABOUT:
Fourth printing of this edition.
Published by Pocket Books in February of 1945.

**SHIPPING:**
Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-07-05

1 in stock