# Is "Last Laugh, Mr. Moto" by John P. Marquand a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Last Laugh, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand (Little, Brown and Company, 1942) is identified by: First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present. US first, Little, Brown, Boston, 1942.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present
- The fifth and final 1930s-the printed price Mr
- Moto novel, published January 1942
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John P. Marquand |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Year | 1942 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing identified by the Little, Brown first-edition statement on the copyright page, with no later-printing notice present. The fifth and final 1930s-the printed price Mr. Moto novel, published January 1942.

## Is this the true first?
US first, Little, Brown, Boston, 1942. First British edition published by Robert Hale, London, in 1943.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and reprints exist; confirm the first-edition statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Last Laugh, Mr. Moto* by John P. Marquand a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/last-laugh-mr-moto
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.