Spectacular association copy of this lurid underworld memoir, the annotated copy of Henry John Nelson, Sharpe's attorney and author of the foreword, and signed by both Nelson and Sharpe.
Very good plus.
Price: $3,000.00
"To give the devil his due, prison did do me one good turn. It gave me time to read."
The autobiography of the bold and versatile confidence artist, who stole not for pleasure, but for "money or revenge." Born Mary Anne Duignan (or Beatrice Desmond) in 1871 (or 1876), Sharpe made her way from Ireland to America in her teens and promptly fell in with Dal Churchill of the Dalton Gang, who soon left her a widow after a botched train robbery. Sharpe achieved her epithet and her advanced criminal training in the midwest, where the 1893 World's Fair drew her with the promise of easy tourist targets for theft and her many confidence schemes: Though boasting of international ventures to London, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro, Sharpe calls herself with no small pride "a prize-graduate of the Chicago School of Crime." A close associate of – and wife to – several gangsters, Sharpe was an adamant "individualist" who took pains to emphasize that she owed neither her ill-gotten profits nor her notoriety to the men in her life. Published only a year before her death, CHICAGO MAY is forthright to the end: prison never reformed her, and going straight, she says, was a strictly business decision.
Already scarce signed (Sharpe died the year after publication), this copy is exceptional with her attorney's ownership stamp and annotations, mostly noting errors in the text with dismay.
New York: The Macaulay Company, (1928). 9'' x 6''. Original orange cloth with red lettering. Red topstain, fore-edge machine deckle. Portions of scarce original printed dust jacket laid in. 336 pages. Signed by Sharpe and Nelson in blue ink on front pastedown, along with Nelson's stamp. Nelson's unobtrusive pencil notes to front endpapers and throughout the text. Light soil and bumping to boards; light staining to spine. Toning to endpapers.
We work hard to meet our ethical responsibility to describe our material accurately. All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned for any reason within 30 days. Please notify us before mailing a return.
We guarantee the authenticity of our items. All materials are original (meaning not facsimiles or reproductions) unless otherwise noted. First editions (meaning first edition, first printing) are explicitly stated. TPM is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
All photographs are of the actual item for sale. We're happy to provide additional images on request.
All domestic orders ship gratis. For orders under $250, free USPS media mail shipping is included; orders $250 and over ship USPS Priority. International orders over $500 also ship gratis. Expedited, overnight, as well as other carriers (UPS, Fed-Ex, etc.), may carry additional costs beyond quoted rates. All orders receive tracking information and a direct contact in case of any questions.
International buyers are responsible for any customs, taxes, and related import fees. Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests to misrepresent, misdeclare, or otherwise falsify customs documents when shipping internationally. We appreciate your understanding.
We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, check, money order, and bank wire. We are happy to bill institutional buyers' needs. Sales tax will be added to applicable purchases. Items subject to prior sale.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact us. We prioritize our long-term relationships far above any individual purchase, and we want you to love your item as much as we loved cataloguing it.
Type Punch Matrix is a rare book firm founded by Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy.
Read more about TPM.
