# Is "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" by Agatha Christie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1968) is identified by: The UK Collins Crime Club edition of November 1968 is the first edition and precedes the US Dodd, Mead edition of the same year. Both editions carry 1968, but the UK Collins Crime Club printing (November 1968) precedes the US Dodd, Mead edition chronologically and is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The UK Collins Crime Club edition of November 1968 is the first edition and precedes the US Dodd, Mead edition of the same year
- It is a Tommy and Tuppence Beresford novel, the fourth in that series
- The first edition is bound in green boards and is issued in a yellow typographic dust jacket designed by Kenneth Farnhill; the first-issue jacket carries its original printed price, which should be present rather than clipped away
- Publisher imprint reads William Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Publisher | William Collins |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The UK Collins Crime Club edition of November 1968 is the first edition and precedes the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The UK Collins Crime Club edition of November 1968 is the first edition and precedes the US Dodd, Mead edition of the same year. It is a Tommy and Tuppence Beresford novel, the fourth in that series. The first edition is bound in green boards and is issued in a yellow typographic dust jacket designed by Kenneth Farnhill; the first-issue jacket carries its original printed price, which should be present rather than clipped away.

## Is this the true first?
Both editions carry 1968, but the UK Collins Crime Club printing (November 1968) precedes the US Dodd, Mead edition chronologically and is the true first. Identified by green boards and the yellow Kenneth Farnhill dust jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Collins impressions and book club editions follow the first; the priced first-issue Farnhill jacket and the November 1968 Collins Crime Club imprint distinguish the true first from later printings and from the US Dodd, Mead edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *By the Pricking of My Thumbs* by Agatha Christie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/by-the-pricking-of-my-thumbs
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.