# Is "Death of a Dude" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Death of a Dude by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1969) is identified by: First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1969. Stout was American and the book appeared first in the US; the Viking Press edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1969
- Blue boards with dark blue cloth spine and green, blue, and white spine lettering, in a predominantly black pictorial dust jacket
- A Nero Wolfe novel set entirely away from the West 35th Street brownstone, at Lily Rowan's Montana ranch
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1969 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1969. Blue boards with dark blue cloth spine and green, blue, and white spine lettering, in a predominantly black pictorial dust jacket. A Nero Wolfe novel set entirely away from the West 35th Street brownstone, at Lily Rowan's Montana ranch.

## Is this the true first?
Stout was American and the book appeared first in the US; the Viking Press edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints and book club printings follow the Viking first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Death of a Dude* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/death-of-a-dude
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.