# Is "Black Wings Has My Angel" by Elliott Chaze a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze (Gold Medal Books, 1953) is identified by: True first is the paperback original, Fawcett Gold Medal #404 (1953), the printed price. Paperback is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the paperback original, Fawcett Gold Medal #404
- , the printed price
- Paperback wraps only; no hardcover precedes it
- Gold Medal logo and number 404
- A scarce, highly prized noir PBO; genuine first-printing copies in fine condition are very scarce
- Publisher imprint reads Gold Medal Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Elliott Chaze |
| Publisher | Gold Medal Books |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the paperback original, Fawcett Gold Medal #404 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is the paperback original, Fawcett Gold Medal #404 (1953), the printed price. Paperback wraps only; no hardcover precedes it. Gold Medal logo and number 404. A scarce, highly prized noir PBO; genuine first-printing copies in fine condition are very scarce.

## Is this the true first?
Paperback is the true first. The much later NYRB Classics (2016) reprint is a modern 'first thus.' There was no contemporaneous hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Distinguish the Gold Medal #404 first from the 1962 Berkley reprint (retitled in some markets) and from the modern NYRB edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Black Wings Has My Angel* by Elliott Chaze a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/black-wings-has-my-angel
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.