Is My The Bishop Murder Case a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Scribner's seal appears at the foot of the copyright page, with 1929 on both title page and copyright page and no later-printing notice — Scribner's documented pre-1930 practice; the Scribner 'A' was not introduced until 1930, so its absence does not disqualify a first
• Binding is publisher's black cloth with Art-Deco stamping in blue to the front cover and spine, a small octavo collating viii, 349, [3] pp. of ads, with illustrations including one folding plate — the folding plate should be present and intact
• The jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap; price-clipped jackets are common
• No first/second state text points are documented for this title, so the seal, the matching 1929 dates and the absence of a printing notice are the whole test

How Charles Scribner's Sons marked a first edition

• Pre-1930: Scribner seal/device plus month-and-year of publication on copyright page; first printings either carry matching dates on title page and copyright page or show no later printings noted.

Full Charles Scribner's Sons first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

The US edition — Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1929 — is the true first; the UK edition is Cassell and Company, London, 1929, the first English edition and separately collected. The Spectator reviewed the Cassell edition on 18 May 1929, consistent with the US book preceding it. Note the publisher change on the UK side: Van Dine's earlier titles were issued in Britain by Ernest Benn, but this one moved to Cassell — the census claim (US Scribner's 1929 precedes UK Cassell 1929) is confirmed. This is the fourth Philo Vance novel and is often cited as the first nursery-rhyme mystery.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Grosset & Dunlap reprints followed (some dated 1929), and the 1930 MGM film with Basil Rathbone prompted further reprint issues; any Grosset & Dunlap imprint at the foot of the title page marks a reprint, and such copies lack the Scribner seal. Pocket Books issued a paperback in 1945.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Bishop Murder Case a first edition?

A first edition of The Bishop Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (Charles Scribner's Sons) is identified by: The Scribner's seal appears at the foot of the copyright page, with 1929 on both title page and copyright page and no later-printing notice — Scribner's documented pre-1930 practice; the Scribner 'A' was not introduced until 1930, so its absence does not disqualify a first.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The US edition — Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1929 — is the true first; the UK edition is Cassell and Company, London, 1929, the first English edition and separately collected.

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

Grosset & Dunlap reprints followed (some dated 1929), and the 1930 MGM film with Basil Rathbone prompted further reprint issues; any Grosset & Dunlap imprint at the foot of the title page marks a reprint, and such copies lack the Scribner seal. Pocket Books issued a paperback in 1945.

I have a first edition of The Bishop Murder Case — 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.