Thirty Years a Detective

Thirty Years a Detective: A Thorough and Comprehensive Expose of Criminal Practices of All Grades and Classes by Allan Pinkerton
G.W. Carleton & Co.: NY, 1886. Hardcover. Decorated pebbled brown cloth over boards; title and decorations in gilt and black. 616 pp. Illustrated episodes in the life of America's most famous detective, the founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. There are condition issues - some of the plates are loose and the cover cloth has come away from the spine (please see photos). Pencil markings on the front and back endpapers.
About the book: The Author founded The Pinkerton Agency in 1850, and was instrumental in bringing down the James gang, the Molly Maguires, the Reno brothers and other criminals of the day. During the Civil War, Pinkerton foiled an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln. "Thirty Years a Detective" presents the history, the craft, and the stories of many of the criminals that Allan Pinkerton pursued and captured in his years as a detective. The name Pinkerton became synonymous with "Private Eye," due to the famous eye logo and the motto "We never sleep," which are embossed on the cover of this antiquarian book.