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The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983)

Contributed by Dwaine Best on Jun 29th, 2019. Artwork published in .
The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 1
https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/402/lot/123577/The-Maltese-Falcon. License: All Rights Reserved.

Limited edition (400 copies) of The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961). Published by Arion Press, San Francisco 1983. Illustrated with photographs of Sam Spade’s San Francisco. Original morocco backed cloth, morocco onlay to covers, slipcase, invitation card for publication party laid in.

The types are Bodoni semibold and Corvinus medium. Monotype composition is by Mackenzie-Harris. The ultranarrow sans used on the spine appears to be Baucher Gothic with a modified M.

The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 2
https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/402/lot/123577/The-Maltese-Falcon. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 3
https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/402/lot/123577/The-Maltese-Falcon. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 4
https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/402/lot/123577/The-Maltese-Falcon. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 5
https://www.pbagalleries.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/402/lot/123577/The-Maltese-Falcon. License: All Rights Reserved.
The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983) 6
https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Maltese-Falcon-Hammett-Dashiell-Arion-Press/16905952302/bd. License: All Rights Reserved.

1 Comment on “The Maltese Falcon (Arion Press, 1983)”

  1. Thank you for this contribution, Dwaine!

    On second look, I’m not entirely sold on Baucher Gothic. I don’t have a better suggestion to offer, though. It could very well be that the lettering on the spine and the case label is custom drawn. By the way: Does anyone know about Baucher’s origin? It looks like a reinterpretation of types like Phenix American or Huxley Vertical, but I don’t know who designed it, or when.

    In 1984, North Point Press published a reproduction of the limited edition by Arion Press, with a jacket instead of a slipcase.

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