Kieran, James
 
Vieni a uccidermi [Come Murder Me] (Vintage Italian hardcover edition)
 
Milan, Italy: Longanesi, 1957. Gialli Probiti 49, L. 500 cover price, 269pp, octavo hardcover in dust jacket. Italian, translation of "Come Murder Me" (1951). Jacket cover featuring noted exotic dancer Lilly "Cat Girl" Christine, reclining in dim light in sequined bikini top and wristbands, Christine was prominent on the strip circuit, and starred in Michael Todd's 1950s musical revue, "Peepshow." She appears on other Italian editions, including "Orchidea rossa" in the "Gialli blu" line. Other Gialli editions credited models on the jacket flap, not so here, with series title list on the verso. Giusto Vaglieri's "Gialli" imprint was one of Italy's finest, offering translations of (mostly) American crime fiction with winking cat face mascot, tiny man in clutched fist illustration on the rear panels, and lush, full-color pin-up jacket photos of Raquel Welch, Lili St. Cyr, June Wilkinson, and others. Very Good Plus in Very Good jacket; slight lean, light foxing, tiny star stamp on the first page, jacket with several small chips and short tears, light toning.