THE BAT: A NOVEL FROM THE PLAY BY MARY ROBERTS RINEHART AND AVERY HOPWOOD.
New York: George H. Doran, [1926]. Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v-vi [vii-viii] 9-319 [320: blank], original decorated orange cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black. First edition. In 1920 Rinehart's 1908 mystery thriller THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE was adapted into a very popular play, The Bat, by Rinehart and Avery Hopwood. The 1926 silent film, The Bat, directed by Roland West and starring Jack Pickford and Louise Fazenda, was based on Rinehart and Hopwood's play. The play was also the basis for a 1930 film (also done by Roland West), The Bat Whispers, which features a black shrouded arch-criminal. Comic-book creator Bob Kane said in his 1989 autobiography BATMAN AND ME that the villain of the 1930 film The Bat Whispers was an inspiration for his character Batman. Foxing to page edges and somewhat throughout, a nearly fine copy in a very good dust jacket from the Grosset & Dunlap photoplay tie-in edition (for the 1926 film), with edge wear with some shallow chips and several small closed tears, foxing to the verso with some bleed through, mostly to the rear panel. Small bookplate of late collector John Ruyle affixed to front paste-down. (30912). Item #30912
Price: $750.00