Description

PRESENTATION COPY OF THE CASE OF THE SINGING SKIRT, WARMLY INSCRIBED BY ERLE STANLEY GARDNER TO FORENSIC CRIME DETECTION EXPERT DR. ROBERT P. BRITTAIN

GARDNER, Erle Stanley. The Case of the Singing Skirt. New York: William Morrow, (1959). Octavo, original yellow paper boards, original dust jacket.

First edition, presentation copy, inscribed to the author’s close friend, forensic crime detection expert Dr. Robert P. Brittain: “To ‘Rob’ a very wonderful friend. With all the best in the world. Your Erle. Erle Stanley Gardner.”

“The variety of persons and circumstances and the ingenuity in contriving the details that Gardner dreamed up in his dozens of cases are astonishing and entrancing. In The Singing Skirt, the unflappable lawyer rescues a cabaret girl from a frame-up and defeats a neat conspiracy by the ‘law and order’ of a small town which the prosperous gambler has in his pocket. The court scene is excellent; the characters? are amply credible; and the pace never flags” (Barzun & Taylor 1421). This is number 60 of 86 books in the series. Hubin, 163. The recipient of this copy, Dr. Robert P. Brittain, was a forensic medical expert who Gardner first encountered at an exclusive conference on scientific crime detection at Harvard Medical School. There, Dr. Brittain, a barrister and medical doctor with expertise in criminal forensics, captivated the attendees with his extensive knowledge in the field and his engaging teaching style. When Gardner had a particularly vexing case in the years that followed, he consulted Brittain and formed a close friendship with him. In recognition of Brittain’s professional efforts and those of others in his field, Gardner dedicated The Case of the One-Eyed Witness to Brittain and introduced him to readers in a three-page dedicatory foreword.

Book fine, dust jacket very good, with only light wear to extremities and two small tape repairs to verso. A handsome inscribed copy.