[LITERATURE - DELL MYSTERY'S]. A group of 142 titles from the Dell "Mapback" Mystery series. New York: Dell Publishing, 1943-1962.

Together, 142 works in 142 volumes, all small 8vo, all in original pictorial wrappers, condition generally very good.

An incomplete run that comprises several of the early titles including Death in the Library by Philip Ketchum (No. 1) and The American Gun Mystery by Ellery Queen (No. 4). Notable authors include Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, David Dodge, H.G. Wells, etc. The term "mapbacks" was often used by collectors when describing this series, referring to the pictorial maps printed on the lower wrappers to illustrate the story's location. “Dell debuted its cartographic gimmick with the 1943 release of its fifth paperback, Four Frightened Women, by George Harmon Coxe...The company went on to turn out more than 570 additional titles in this line. Early mapback boasted sturdy wrappers and cleverly crafted, upfront descriptions of their dramatis personae...Yet it was the carefully executed scene-of-the-crime layouts—touted initially by narrow front-cover banners reading 'with crime map on back cover'—that set Dell’s paperbacks apart from the competition.” (Pierce, Dell Mapbacks: A History).

[With:] LYLES, William H. Dell Paperbacks, 1942 to Mid-1962. A Catalog-Index. Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1983. Original red cloth. First edition.

[With:] LYLES, William H. Putting Dell on the Map. A History of the Dell Paperbacks. Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1983. Original blue cloth. First edition.