THE ROPE BEGAN TO HANG THE BUTCHER By C [Cornelius]. W [Warren]. Grafton New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, [Circa 1945]. First paperback edition. First published in 1944 in hardcover by Farrar Rinehart. SIGNED to the title page by the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, six-time Shamus Award, and four-time Anthony Award winning author's daughter, SUE GRAFTON. Sue Grafton, who, at an early age was taught to write by her father, C.W. Grafton, was also motivated by his nursery rhyme verse title series featuring Gil Henry (which was never completed) to create and complete her alphabetically titled mystery series. C.W. was a lawyer in Louisville, Kentucky and wrote four mysteries, the first two of which featured affable Kentucky detective and lawyer Gil Henry, with the series' titles using the first and then the second line of a nursery poem. The first Gil Henry novel won the prestigious Mary Roberts Rinehart Mystery Contest Prize, this is the second, and last mystery in the series. A SIGNED association collectible. Crime detecting Dell mapback paperback series. White surface rub-wear to the inner hinge areas, pages age-toned as usual, surface rub-wear abrasions to the upper and lower corners of the front cover, the front spine joint, and in some small spots to the rear cover, minor binding-glue wrinkles to the spine, else firm and good in stiff card wraps with black titles to a bright yellow spine, caricature-style hanging man art to the front cover, map of murder scene area to the rear cover; all page edges blue, Dell code 232 to the front cover and to the spine. The book will be placed in a protective clear baggie, after photographing for this entry. PLEASE VIEW OUR STORE FOR MORE GREAT FIRST EDITION VINTAGE PAPERBACKS THANKS! Created by Seller's Assistant Basic.