“I’M BOILING MAD BECAUSE THE WHOLE DEAL LOOKS TO ME LIKE A PIECE OF COLD-BLOODED PIRACY”: EXTRAORDINARY TYPED LETTER FROM RAYMOND CHANDLER TO HIS AGENT, H.N. SWANSON, SIGNED BY RAYMOND CHANDLER

CHANDLER, Raymond. Typed letter signed. La Jolla, California: No publisher, May 29, 1953. Single sheet, measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches. $4800.

Lengthy original typed letter from acclaimed hard-boiled detective novelist Raymond Chandler to his agent, H.N. Swanson, regarding Verdict magazine’s unauthorized publication of Chandler’s novelette, Bay City Blues, previously published in the June 1938 issue of Dime Detective, an act that Chandler angrily calls “cold-blooded piracy,” requesting that Swanson inform him as to what type of legal action can be taken against Verdict, with a pencil note most likely by H.N. Swanson and signed by Raymond Chandler.

The letter, addressed to Chandler's agent, Mr. H.N. Swanson, and typed on Chandler's "Box One Twenty Eight La Jolla, California" stationery, reads: "Dear Swanie: The August issue, so-called, of the magazine VERDICT contains as a feature story an old novelette of mine entitled BAY CITY BLUES, which was published in DIME DETECTIVE June, 1938, this magazine being the property of Popular Publications, Inc. I know nothing whatever about this, and have had no communication of any sort upon the subject. This, I call to your attention, is what I call one of the cannibalized stories from which I took material published in a book, and for this reason I would in no circumstances consent to its republication. Since you knew nothing about it either, the question arises of what we are going to do about it. Their stalling about payment for the other story suggests to me at least that they may not intend to pay for that, unless in the meantime you have heard from them. It does not seem that it would be the slightest use for me to write them a letter on the subject. Surely if a letter is to have any effect at all it will have to come from a lawyer and be couched in pretty strong language; and I think it's about time we had an opinion as to where I stand on these stories. I should be grateful if you would let me know as soon as possible what, in your opinion, can be done. Needless to say I'm boiling mad because the whole deal looks to me like piece of cold-blooded piracy. Yours ever, (signed) Ray." The letter also contains a pencil note, most likely in Swanson's hand, that asks: "Did — John — get rts from Popular?" Chandler, who considered himself to be a weak plotter, frequently mined his short stories and novelettes in order to produce longer works. A great deal of Chandler's consternation over the republication of Bay City Blues appears to have stemmed from the fact that it was a significant source of material for Chandler's 1943 novel The Lady in the Lake. The novel was essentially a rewriting of an identically titled short story, Bay City Blues, and another short story called "No Crime in the Mountains." Bay City Blues was used to provide a great deal of the novel's back-story and much of its plot was incorporated in only minimally altered form. The republication, particularly at a time when Chandler had achieved such popularity (just a year before The Long Goodbye), could potentially have exposed him to ridicule or even scandal. Moreover, Chandler expresses a great deal of anger over being cheated out of rightful payment for the novelette and for what he suspected was an attempt not to pay for another story. Although Chandler routinely claimed not to worry about money, he kept what he called a "Tickler File," which he used to keep track of delinquent publishers. He also had his office manager keep careful track of his earnings and royalties to make sure that they were paid. His watchful attention to financial matters allowed him to spend the final years of his life quite well off, though he lapsed into depression, alcoholism, and illness after the death of his wife. When he died just six years after this letter in 1969, Chandler's estate was valued at more than $60,000. Ironically, according to biographer Frank MacShane, the battle over the estate resulted in him being interred in the pauper section of San Diego's Mount Hope Cemetery; despite his vast wealth, no one thought to bury him in the more expensive plot next to his wife.

Fine condition.