# Is "The Asphalt Jungle" by W. R. Burnett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett (Alfred A. Knopf, 1949) is identified by: "First Edition" is stated on the copyright page of the first printing, per Knopf's post-1934 convention; Knopf removed the statement on subsequent printings, so a copyright page lacking it is not the first. US Knopf (New York) 1949 is the true first edition; the census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- "First Edition" is stated on the copyright page of the first printing, per Knopf's post-1934 convention
- Knopf removed the statement on subsequent printings, so a copyright page lacking it is not the first
- The book is an octavo in the publisher's distinctive purple-and-white patterned paper-covered boards stamped in black — this patterned-board binding is the readiest shelf-level check and is described consistently across independent ABAA catalogue entries
- Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; a priced jacket with the price present at the flap is the unclipped state
- No first-state text errors or textual points of issue are documented for this title in the sources consulted — identification rests on the stated copyright page plus the correct binding
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. R. Burnett |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | "First Edition" is stated on the copyright page of the first printing, per Knopf's post-1934 convention |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
"First Edition" is stated on the copyright page of the first printing, per Knopf's post-1934 convention; Knopf removed the statement on subsequent printings, so a copyright page lacking it is not the first. The book is an octavo in the publisher's distinctive purple-and-white patterned paper-covered boards stamped in black — this patterned-board binding is the readiest shelf-level check and is described consistently across independent ABAA catalogue entries. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket; a priced jacket with the price present at the flap is the unclipped state. No first-state text errors or textual points of issue are documented for this title in the sources consulted — identification rests on the stated copyright page plus the correct binding.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf (New York) 1949 is the true first edition; the census claim is confirmed. The first British edition followed a year later — Macdonald, London, 1950, an octavo in black cloth — and is collected as the first UK edition only, not as the true first. Any later hardcover reissue, and the paperback and film-tie-in appearances following John Huston's 1950 adaptation, are reprints or "first thus."

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition tells for this title are documented in the sources consulted. Standard Knopf-era discriminators apply: a first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page, and the boards should be the purple-and-white patterned paper — a copy in plain cloth, or lacking the copyright-page statement, is a later printing or a club/reprint issue. Because no blind-stamp or club-specific point is attested for this title, do not infer club status from binding alone without the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Asphalt Jungle* by W. R. Burnett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-asphalt-jungle
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.