9 Raymond Chandler first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Big Sleep (1939) to Killer in the Rain (1964) across 5 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Raymond Chandler 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 Raymond Chandler copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Big Sleep — 1939 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst printing (Bruccoli A1.1.a), collating [viii], 277, [1, note on the type], [2, blank] pages, with 'FIRST EDITION' and the Borzoi device on the copyright page and the line 'Published February, 1939.' Bound in publisher's orange V-cloth, the spine and front board lettered and decorated in blue with the Borzoi device stamped in blue on the rear board, and the top edge stained blue. First-issue dust jacket bears…. US Knopf, February 1939, is the true first (Bruccoli A1.1.a); the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, 1939) follows. Chandler's first book and a Haycraft-Queen cornerstone; author-signed firsts are scarce. Book-club copies are blind-stamped on the rear board, lack the 'Published February, 1939' line, and are issued in unpriced jackets; they also differ in cloth and board weight from the Knopf trade first.
- Farewell, My Lovely — 1940 · Alfred A. KnopfCopyright page states 'FIRST EDITION'. Bound in publisher's cloth (seen in both pink and orange states) with spine and front cover lettered in blue, the Borzoi/Knopf device stamped to the rear board, and the top edge stained blue. The first printing comprised 7,500 copies, published 1 October 1940 (Bruccoli A2.1.a). The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap; the price being…. US Knopf 1940 is the true first, preceding the UK Hamish Hamilton edition of the same year. The US Knopf first is the preferred issue. Reprints (Grosset & Dunlap, Tower, and later paperback/film tie-in editions) carry their own imprint and lack the Knopf 'FIRST EDITION' statement and the blue-lettered pink or orange Knopf binding.
- The High Window — 1942 · Alfred A. KnopfKnopf first, 1942 (published August 17, 1942), with 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page; catalogued Bruccoli A3.1.a, from a first printing of about 6,500 copies. Bound in light-brown cloth stamped on spine and front board; the first-issue pictorial dust jacket carries the printed price present on the front flap. Third Philip Marlowe novel; later filmed as 'The Brasher Doubloon' (1947). US Knopf (1942) is the true first; UK Hamish Hamilton (1943) followed. A small number of advance copies preceded the trade issue. Reprints and book-club copies lack the 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page and the original priced first-issue jacket.
- The Lady in the Lake — 1943 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf (New York), 1943; 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page per Borzoi practice (Bruccoli A4.1.a). Bound in green cloth, the front and spine panels stamped in black with a running Borzoi device stamped in black on the rear panel; fore and bottom edges rough-trimmed on wartime-economy stock. The first-issue dust jacket, illustrated by Norman Reeves in purple and black, carries the publisher's…. US Knopf (1943) is the true first; the UK Hamish Hamilton edition followed in 1944. Fourth Philip Marlowe novel. Book-club reprints lack the stated 'FIRST EDITION', are typically on different (often smoother) stock, and their jackets bear no printed price; later Knopf printings add printing notices on the copyright page.
- The Little Sister — 1949 · Hamish HamiltonThe true first is the UK Hamish Hamilton edition, published June 1949, which precedes the US Houghton Mifflin edition (September 1949) by about three months. First printing has no later-printing statement; first-issue jacket carries the printed price. The US Houghton Mifflin printing is the true first American edition but is not the global first. Precedence confirmed: the UK Hamish Hamilton edition (1949) PRECEDES the US Houghton Mifflin edition (1949) and is the true first of The Little Sister. Later US printings are stated. US book-club editions exist for this title, typically blind-stamped with no price on the jacket and often lighter than the trade issue.
- The Simple Art of Murder — 1950 · Houghton MifflinUS Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1950, collating x, 533 pages. Omnibus collecting a dozen of Chandler's pulp stories together with the famous title essay. Bound in light brown cloth, the spine and front lettered in dark yellow with pale-yellow decorative ruling, the top edge stained yellowish-brown. First-issue pictorial dust jacket designed by Boris Artzybasheff, showing macabre arms holding a paint brush and…. The US Houghton Mifflin edition is the true first of the collection as a book. The title essay first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in December 1944. A UK Hamish Hamilton edition also appeared in 1950, but the US edition is the collection's first. Later printings and reprints follow. Confirm the Artzybasheff jacket art and the priced first-issue flap.
- The Long Goodbye — 1953 · Hamish HamiltonTRUE FIRST is the UK Hamish Hamilton edition, November 1953, which PRECEDES the US Houghton Mifflin edition (March 1954) by about four months. UK first points: bound in publisher's brown / reddish-brown (burgundy) cloth; green pictorial dust jacket designed by Fritz Wegner, priced 10s. 6d. net on the flap (price present/unclipped on an unclipped copy); the UK first styles the title 'The Long Good-Bye'…. Critical precedence point: the UK Hamish Hamilton edition (November 1953) is the true first edition worldwide; the US Houghton Mifflin follows in March 1954 (about four months later). Collectors specifically seek the London first; US buyers frequently mis-call the Houghton Mifflin the 'first.'. Detective Book Club and other US club editions reprint the American text; tell them by the club's blind stamp on the rear board and bulky cheap paper. None precede the UK first. As further checks on the UK first, look for the brown/burgundy cloth and the hyphenated 'The Long Good-Bye.'.
- Playback — 1958 · Hamish HamiltonThe UK Hamish Hamilton edition (1958) precedes the US Houghton Mifflin edition (1958) by roughly three months and is the true first. First printing carries the printed price on the first-issue jacket and no later-printing statement. Chandler's last completed novel. UK Hamish Hamilton (1958) is the true first, published ahead of the US Houghton Mifflin edition the same year. US book-club edition is common, with a blind-stamp and no price on the jacket.
- Killer in the Rain — 1964 · Hamish HamiltonPosthumous collection of eight early Chandler pulp stories (from Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Story Magazine) gathered in book form for the first time, with a Philip Durham introduction. Two 1964 hardcover editions exist: UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin (Boston, blue buckram, white lettering, in illustrated dust jacket). Precedence between the two 1964 editions is not clearly settled: the UK Hamish Hamilton and US Houghton Mifflin editions both appeared in 1964 and are best treated as effectively contemporaneous rather than one firmly preceding the other. Collect the edition matching the market you want; do not assert UK-over-US priority without a dated source. Reprints follow both first editions.
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