Is My Mystery Mile a First Edition?

The points of issue

• CONFIRMED. The true first is Jarrolds, London, 1930 — the Library of Congress catalogues it as "London, Jarrolds limited [1930]", the square brackets indicating the date is not printed on the title page, which matches the Classic Crime Fiction checklist's own bracketed [1930] for the Jarrolds titles
• The Classic Crime Fiction first-edition checklist records the binding as red cloth lettered in black with a priced jacket (price present at the flap); that binding description is single-sourced here and was not independently corroborated
• Jarrolds is not covered by the standard publisher-identification guides consulted, so identification rests on the undated title page together with the copyright page and the absence of any later-impression notice; there is no number line
• The first American edition is Doubleday, Doran, published for The Crime Club, Garden City, N.Y., 1930 — corroborated twice over by the Library of Congress record and by the Felony & Mayhem 2011 reprint's title-page verso, which states "First U.S. edition: 1930 (Doubleday Crime Club)"; under the Doubleday, Doran rule it states "First Edition" on the copyright page, with no statement on later printings

How Jarrolds marked a first edition

• Late 1880s to about 1920: many firsts of this era carry no printing statement at all, so dating relies on the title-page date and on dated rear advertisement catalogs; later printings note reprints. Number lines do not a…
• About 1920 to about 1960: 'First published (year)' or 'First published in Great Britain (year)' on the copyright page; a first impression lists no reprints, while later printings add dated 'Reprinted' or 'New impression'…

Full Jarrolds 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the UK 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?

UK precedes US and the census claim is confirmed. Jarrolds, London, January 1930 (month per the Margery Allingham Society) is the accepted true first; Doubleday, Doran for The Crime Club, Garden City, N.Y., 1930 is the first American edition and is collected in its own right — name both. One residual: no source consulted gives a month for the US Crime Club issue, so UK precedence rests on the January 1930 UK date against an undated-within-year US issue rather than on two compared months. This is the second Albert Campion book (after The Crime at Black Dudley) and the first in which Campion leads; the title was not changed for the US market.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

On the US side the Doubleday/Crime Club book-club tells are the ones to check and are well documented: "Book Club Edition" printed at the foot of the front jacket flap or no price at the flap at all, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and a five-digit code in a white block on the jacket rear. Crime Club book-club copies are common for this title and are routinely offered as firsts. The Heinemann, London, 1966 issue and the Penguin/Felony & Mayhem issues are later reprints, not first editions.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mystery Mile a first edition?

A first edition of Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (Jarrolds) is identified by: The true first is Jarrolds, London, 1930 — the Library of Congress catalogues it as "London, Jarrolds limited [1930]", the square brackets indicating the date is not printed on the title page, which matches the Classic Crime Fiction checklist's own bracketed [1930] for the Jarrolds titles.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). UK precedes US and the census claim is confirmed.

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

On the US side the Doubleday/Crime Club book-club tells are the ones to check and are well documented: "Book Club Edition" printed at the foot of the front jacket flap or no price at the flap at all, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and a five-digit code in a white block on the jacket rear. Crime Club book-club copies are common for this title and are routinely offered as firsts. The Heinemann, London, 1966 issue and the Penguin/Felony & Mayhem issues are later reprints

I have a first edition of Mystery Mile — 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.