AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998) - photo 1
AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998) - photo 2
AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998) - photo 3

AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998)

Lot 193
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 10 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1249835
Lot 193 | AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998)
Estimate value
£ 10 000 – 15 000
AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998)
The Mask of Dimitrios. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939.
The dedication copy of Ambler's finest novel: first edition inscribed by the author to friends Alan and Felice Harvey. The Mask of Dimitrios, published in the USA in the same year under the title A Coffin for Dimitrios, was a major influence on the modern thriller genre. The story follows Charles Latimer, an English crime novelist and former professor, who becomes intrigued by the story of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a notorious criminal whose body has been found washed up in Istanbul. Blending realistic spycraft with complex narratives and deeply flawed characters, its impact can be seen in the works of later thriller writers, including John le Carré and Ian Fleming. The novel was also adapted into a successful film in 1944, starring Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, and was read by James Bond on his flight to Istanbul in the 1957 novel From Russia, with Love. The dedicatees, the writers and translators Alan and Felice Harvey, were friends and neighbours of the author in Pimlico. Ambler had worked with Alan at an advertising agency before committing to writing full time. An important copy of a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone of Detective Fiction.

Octavo. (Partial stain to upper edge.) Original red cloth lettered in gilt on spine (slight staining at foot of spine and lower board); original pictorial dust-jacket with 7/6 price on inner flap (staining to foot of lower panel and head of inner flap, small chips at head and foot of spine panel affecting a couple of letters, edges lightly rubbed). Provenance: Alan and Felice Harvey (presentation inscription from the author extending the printed dedication: ‘with love from Eric’).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

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