# Is "Dead Cert" by Dick Francis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dead Cert by Dick Francis (Michael Joseph, 1962) is identified by: First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1962 — publisher's deep red (maroon) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, octavo, in the Trevor Denning-designed pictorial jacket with the original shilling-era price present at the foot of the front flap (unclipped). London: Michael Joseph, 1962 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1962 — publisher's deep red (maroon) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, octavo, in the Trevor Denning-designed pictorial jacket with the original shilling-era price present at the foot of the front flap (unclipped)
- Dealer consensus (Peter Harrington ABA/ILAB, Buckingham Books, and others) treats the correctly priced, unclipped Denning jacket as the key issue point; no first-state text points are documented
- Fine unfaded jackets are exceptionally difficult to find on this, Francis's first novel
- Publisher imprint reads Michael Joseph
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dick Francis |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1962 — publisher's deep red (maroon) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, octavo… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression: London, Michael Joseph, 1962 — publisher's deep red (maroon) cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, octavo, in the Trevor Denning-designed pictorial jacket with the original shilling-era price present at the foot of the front flap (unclipped). Dealer consensus (Peter Harrington ABA/ILAB, Buckingham Books, and others) treats the correctly priced, unclipped Denning jacket as the key issue point; no first-state text points are documented. Fine unfaded jackets are exceptionally difficult to find on this, Francis's first novel.

## Is this the true first?
London: Michael Joseph, 1962 is the true first edition. The first American edition (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962) followed and is collected separately as the first US printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No specific book-club points are documented in the sources consulted. Price-clipped jackets and married later-impression jackets are the common red flags on offered copies.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dead Cert* by Dick Francis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dead-cert
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.