Lot #38: Vintage 1935 Book - "The Spanish Cape Mystery" by Ellery Queen

Orange Card Cover. Black Lettering. "The Spanish Cape Mystery" by Ellery Queen. Philadelphia: Blakiston, 1935. The Spanish Cape Mystery is a classic whodunit written by the cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee under the famous pseudonym Ellery Queen, first published in 1935. The novel is the ninth entry in the Ellery Queen series. The plot begins with the kidnapping of a young heiress, Rosa Godfrey, and her uncle by a one-eyed giant known as "the Cyclops," who mistakenly believes the uncle is a houseguest named John Marco. When the real John Marco is discovered dead on the terrace of the Spanish Cape estate, the crime scene presents a baffling puzzle: the victim is found strangled and completely nude, save for a black fedora and an opera cloak. The story is famous for its "Challenge to the Reader" feature—a hallmark of early Queen novels—where the author pauses the narrative just before the climax to inform the reader that all necessary clues have been presented to solve the mystery through pure logical deduction. This Blakiston edition from Philadelphia, published in 1935, is a notable early reprint often associated with their "Triangle Books" line. These editions were typically issued in a sturdy cloth binding—frequently orange with black lettering and a Queen of Diamonds motif—and are favored by collectors for their period-accurate design. Pickup category timeslot {A}