2 John Dickson Carr first editions are documented on this shelf, from It Walks by Night (1930) to The Crooked Hinge (1938) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that John Dickson Carr title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.

Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a John Dickson Carr copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

It Walks by Night — 1930 · Harper & BrothersNew York: Harper & Brothers, 1930 — Carr's first book and the debut of Henri Bencolin. The first-printing copyright page carries Harper's letter date code 'A-E' (January 1930 in Harper's documented 1912–1949 month/year cipher) with no subsequent printings listed; binding is black cloth with teal lettering and rules on front and spine and a teal publisher's device on the rear panel, pagination recorded as (12) 328…. The US Harper & Brothers (New York) 1930 edition is the true first — American author, New York publication with the January 1930 code; Harper's London issue, bound in blue cloth, followed the same year. Both are collected, with the New York printing taking precedence. Harper's date code is the tell: a year letter other than 'E' (1930) or any listed subsequent printings marks a reprint; the code system ran 1912–1949.
The Crooked Hinge — 1938 · Harper & BrothersThe Harper & Brothers issue, New York and London, 1938, states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper two-letter printing code I-N — I = September, N = 1938 — so a first printing is a September 1938 printing (code confirmed on dealer copies at MLC Books; 'first edition stated' independently confirmed at Midway Book Store and Buckingham Books). Bound in orange cloth lettered in green on…. Both the Harper (New York) and Hamish Hamilton (London) editions appeared in 1938 and both are collected. The census claims US precedence; the Harper code I-N fixes the American printing to September 1938, but no source consulted gives a month for the Hamish Hamilton issue, so month-level precedence is NOT established — treat 'US first' as conventional rather than proven, particularly given that a…. A Harper copyright page without the 'FIRST EDITION' line, or carrying a code other than I-N, is a later printing. Beware Harper's year-letter recycling: Harper began reusing year letters in 1937 on a 25-letter cycle (J omitted), so I-N can in principle also read September 1963 — the 1938 book is separated by its period binding, paper and jacket design, and by the Harper & Brothers imprint itself (the firm became….

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