Is My Calamity Town a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing carries an explicit 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page — independently reported by multiple dealers cataloguing copies in hand ('Stated first edition'; 'First edition stated'; 'States First Edition')
• This matches Little, Brown's documented 1940s practice, when the firm moved from the 1930s 'Published (Month) (Year)' formula to a stated 'First Edition' or 'First Printing,' with later printings normally indicated; the absence of the statement therefore signals a later printing
• Binding is orange cloth lettered in green on the front cover and spine, collating 318 pp., 21 cm
• The first-issue jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap; price-clipped jackets are common on surviving copies

How Little, Brown and Company marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line, deno…
• Time Inc. / Time Warner corporate era (Time Inc. bought L,B 1968; Time Warner Book Group from 1989; editorial/HQ moved from Boston to New York in 2001): the number-line-must-contain-1 rule holds throughout. Imprint on th…

Full Little, Brown and Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US edition — Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1942 — is the true first, and Wikipedia's infobox gives the publication place as the United States. The UK edition is Victor Gollancz, London, 1942 (confirmed by dealer listings), and is collected separately as the first English edition; Gollancz firsts of this date carry no edition statement, with later impressions noted on the verso. Do not confuse the Gollancz first with the Gollancz 'First Cheap Edition' of 1948 or its 1949 second printing, both of which are documented later issues. This is the first Wrightsville novel.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Copies lacking the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page are later Little, Brown printings. The Gollancz 1948 'First Cheap Edition' (and its 1949 reprint) is a reprint despite the word 'First' in the designation — a first-thus trap. No US book-club issue was documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Calamity Town a first edition?

A first edition of Calamity Town by Ellery Queen (Little, Brown and Company) is identified by: The first printing carries an explicit 'FIRST EDITION' statement on the copyright page — independently reported by multiple dealers cataloguing copies in hand ('Stated first edition'; 'First edition stated'; 'States First Edition').

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The US edition — Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1942 — is the true first, and Wikipedia's infobox gives the publication place as the United States.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Copies lacking the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page are later Little, Brown printings. The Gollancz 1948 'First Cheap Edition' (and its 1949 reprint) is a reprint despite the word 'First' in the designation — a first-thus trap. No US book-club issue was documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Calamity Town — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.