"A Hard Man is Good to Find"

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Thu, Nov 04, 2004 at 10:03:17AM -0500, Fred Shapiro wrote:
> I'm working someplace without ProQuest Historical Newspapers access right
> now.  Can anyone check for me what is the earliest hit on PQHN for the
> phrase "a hard man is good to find."  I find it on Newspaperarchive in
> 1973 as a porn movie title, but am trying to see if there are earlier
> attributions to Mae West.

Different context, but:

1944 Chicago Daily Tribune 22 June 19 Tough umpires are the best
thing for baseball. A hard man is good to find....-- Paul Larmer.

An ad in the NYT in 1957 uses the phrase--apparently quoted from
Time Magazine--in reference to West, but Nathanael, not Mae.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED