A handsome signed copy of What It Was, George Pelecanos's 1972-set Derek Strange novel, in the deluxe slipcase edition that Reagan Arthur Books and Little, Brown issued alongside the regular trade release in January 2012.
The book was published by Reagan Arthur Books of New York in 2012, First Edition, January 2012, with a full number line, ISBN 978-0-316-20953-3. It is bound in mustard cloth boards stamped with a hand holding a revolver on the front and a diamond ring on the back, and it sits in the black slipcase with the gilt Afro pick emblem on the front. There is no dust jacket, as issued, and the author has signed the front free endpaper; the signature appears hand-signed. Derek Strange, newly out of the police department and starting over as a private investigator, takes on the case of a missing girlfriend and a very distinctive ring, in a Washington, D.C. steeped in the cars, clothes, and music of 1972.
The book itself grades Near Fine, clean and sharp inside and out, and the slipcase grades Very Good with light shelf wear at the edges. Pelecanos, a writer and producer on The Wire and Treme, writes his home city like nobody else, and this deluxe edition is the copy to own.
Great find at a great price! Please note the S&H charges, which include USPS postage, materials, and handling. Pictured bookends are not included in the sale.
