Is My Singing in the Shrouds a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Little, Brown (Boston, 1958) precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition
• A Roderick Alleyn novel; the true first is the American issue
• Some UK dealers date the Collins issue 1958, but the London edition is properly 1959

How Little, Brown marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line, deno…
• Time Inc. / Time Warner corporate era (Time Inc. bought L,B 1968; Time Warner Book Group from 1989; editorial/HQ moved from Boston to New York in 2001): the number-line-must-contain-1 rule holds throughout. Imprint on th…

Full Little, Brown first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1958), preceding the UK Collins edition (1959).P-022828

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later reprints and book-club issues follow the 1958 US first.P-022829

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Singing in the Shrouds a first edition?

A first edition of Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh (Little, Brown) is identified by: US Little, Brown (Boston, 1958) precedes the UK Collins Crime Club edition (1959).

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. True first is the US Little, Brown edition (1958), preceding the UK Collins edition (1959).

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

Later reprints and book-club issues follow the 1958 US first.

I have a first edition of Singing in the Shrouds — 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.