“POODLE DOG, DIAMONDS, LIMOUSINE, CONCEIT, CRUELTY AND ALL”: FIRST EDITION OF JAMES M. CAIN’S SERENADE

CAIN, James M. Serenade. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1937. Octavo, original black cloth, decorated in silver, original dust jacket. $1400.

First edition of Cain’s bold second novel, with book and dust jacket designed by W.A. Dwiggins.

To Edmund Wilson, Cain’s distinctively crisp style clearly established him as one of “the poets of the tabloid murder.” In this “complex and bravura blend of exotica, opera and murder,” Cain displayed the mastery of the first person narrative style that put him at “the front rank of American storytellers” (Keating 21). Recalling the inspiration for Serenade, Cain once wrote, “This story goes back to my try-to-be-a-singer days… It cooked until 1937, when I went to Mexico and got it over with” (University of Maryland, Cain Collection). Influential artist William Addison Dwiggins designed both the volume and its dust jacket, which on this copy is printed with red as the dominant color, no priority established. “Only rarely was Dwiggins involved with dust wrappers, and this was one of his best efforts” (Smiley & Bell, 41). Hubin, 62. Bookseller ticket.

Book fine, silver decorations quite fresh and attractive. Light chipping to spine head, slightly toned spine, unobtrusive tape repair to verso of exceptionally bright, near-fine dust jacket.