Donate Dashiell Hammett Books — Free Albuquerque Pickup

I accept Dashiell Hammett donations anywhere in the Albuquerque metro with free pickup — the whole collection: The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Glass Key, and the Continental Op story collections, in any edition. You don't sort or price anything. Bring it all, including the old hardcovers you might not recognize; Hammett's 1929–1934 Knopf first editions are among the most valuable in American crime fiction, so I check everything and the rest funds New Mexico literacy.

Published June 2026 · By Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project

Hammett invented the hardboiled detective novel, and his slim shelf of books casts a long shadow — so a serious crime-fiction collection almost always has him in it. When one gets cleared, most people just want it gone and don't want to throw out something a collector would pay dearly for. That's exactly what I'm for: I take the whole thing, free, and I check every book.

What I take: all of it

You don't have to know what's valuable

Here's the reason to call rather than dump: Hammett's first editions are collecting royalty. His novels were published by Alfred A. Knopf between 1929 and 1934, and a first edition of The Maltese Falcon (1930) in its scarce first-state dust jacket is one of the most desirable modern firsts there is — capable of bringing six figures, and easily five figures jacketless. Red Harvest, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man firsts are valuable too. To most people these look like any other old hardcover, and they get given away for a dollar. You don't have to learn the points — bring the whole shelf and I'll recognize the Knopf firsts, protect them, and keep the reading copies in circulation, with any hidden value identified and put to work.

Why donate instead of selling it yourself

For a confirmed Knopf first, selling on your own can pay enormously — but you'd want it professionally authenticated first. For the typical Hammett shelf — paperbacks and a few hardcovers — identifying printings and listing each book is more work than they're individually worth, which is why so many shelves get dumped intact. Donating handles it in one call: no research, no pricing, no listings, no shipping, free pickup at your door, reading copies to new readers, and a genuine first recognized and supporting New Mexico literacy. Here's where donated books go.

How free pickup works

Call or text 702-496-4214 (or schedule online), tell me roughly how much there is and where you are, and we set a time. I come to you and load it all. I cover Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, the East Mountains, and the surrounding metro, and I handle whole-house and estate cleanouts regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I donate Dashiell Hammett books in Albuquerque?

Right here — free pickup anywhere in the metro for the whole collection: the novels, the Continental Op stories, the letters and biographies. Call or text 702-496-4214.

Are old Hammett books worth anything?

The 1929–34 Knopf firsts are among crime fiction's most valuable — a jacketed Maltese Falcon first can reach six figures. They look ordinary; bring it all and let me check.

Worn paperbacks too?

Yes — worn paperbacks, book-club editions, omnibuses, and tie-in covers. Just don't throw any of it out first.