# Is "Not Quite Dead Enough" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Not Quite Dead Enough by Rex Stout (Farrar & Rinehart, 1944) is identified by: Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1944, first printing. US Farrar & Rinehart 1944 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1944, first printing
- A Nero Wolfe double mystery of two wartime novellas (in which Archie Goodwin wears a US Army uniform)
- Key point: the first printing carries the publisher's monogram colophon on the copyright page; the same-year second printing is identical except the colophon was dropped
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar & Rinehart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Farrar & Rinehart |
| Year | 1944 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1944, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1944, first printing. A Nero Wolfe double mystery of two wartime novellas (in which Archie Goodwin wears a US Army uniform). Key point: the first printing carries the publisher's monogram colophon on the copyright page; the same-year second printing is identical except the colophon was dropped.

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar & Rinehart 1944 is the true first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Same-year second printing lacks the copyright-page colophon; later reprints follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Not Quite Dead Enough* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/not-quite-dead-enough
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.