Description
College & University Press, Published 1964. Hardcover, 216 pp.; 22 cm; first edition in book form (preceded only by the 1955 appearance in the Publication of the American Dialect Society).
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
112
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Condition & notes
In Good condition with a Good dust jacket. Light brown cloth-covered boards, black lettering on front cover and spine; some nicking and scuffing to edges of covers with some color loss along the top and bottom edges of the covers and exposing a bit of the underlying boards; mild overall shelf wear, soiling, and toning with some color loss to the top of the spine and mild staining to the bottom corner of the front cover. Binding tight. Original price stamped on front free endpaper. Pages lightly toned, otherwise unmarked. Tan dust jacket with title lettering; several nicks and tears of one inch or less and creasing along edges; mild overall shelf wear, soiling, and toning; price-clipped. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. A pioneering study of the argot (specialized speech) of pickpockets and its relation to their behavior, by linguist David W. Maurer, author of the classic study of confidence men, The Big Con (later the basis for the film The Sting). First published in 1955 in the Publication of the American Dialect Society; this College & University Press hardcover is the first edition in book form. Contents: Introduction; The Nature of Professional Crime; The Pickpocket and Legitimate Society; The Place of the Pickpocket in the Underworld; Usage Levels of the Pickpocket; The Act of Theft; Different Types of Mobs; The Mark; Money and Valuables; The Thief and the Law; Skills and Training; Places to Work; Ethics and Morals; The Word-Finder List.