# Is "Fer-de-Lance" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (Farrar & Rinehart, 1934) is identified by: Farrar & Rinehart, 1934. US Farrar & Rinehart is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Farrar & Rinehart, 1934
- Identified by the publisher's monogram device on the copyright page; if no device is present the book is a later printing
- Black cloth, gilt lettering on front and spine, in the black/pink/green pictorial dust jacket
- The first Nero Wolfe novel and Stout's key mystery debut; scarce in jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar & Rinehart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Farrar & Rinehart |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Farrar & Rinehart, 1934 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Farrar & Rinehart, 1934. Identified by the publisher's monogram device on the copyright page; if no device is present the book is a later printing. Black cloth, gilt lettering on front and spine, in the black/pink/green pictorial dust jacket. The first Nero Wolfe novel and Stout's key mystery debut; scarce in jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar & Rinehart is the true first. A UK Cassell edition followed in 1935.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The second printing (December 1934) and third printing (October 1935), plus later reprints and book-club issues, lack the Farrar & Rinehart monogram on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Fer-de-Lance* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/fer-de-lance
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.