# Is "The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons" by Lawrence Block a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons by Lawrence Block (LB Productions, 2013) is identified by: The true first is the 2013 author-published hardcover, issued as a signed and numbered limited edition (a run of 1000 copies, printed by G&H Soho) under Block's own imprint. US self-published 2013 hardcover is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the 2013 author-published hardcover, issued as a signed and numbered limited edition (a run of 1000 copies, printed by G&H Soho) under Block's own imprint
- Verify a copy is from this 2013 issue rather than the later 2015 Subterranean Press trade hardcover, which is stated as 'First Trade Hardcover Edition.'
- Publisher imprint reads LB Productions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lawrence Block |
| Publisher | LB Productions |
| Year | 2013 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the 2013 author-published hardcover, issued as a signed and numbered… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is the 2013 author-published hardcover, issued as a signed and numbered limited edition (a run of 1000 copies, printed by G&H Soho) under Block's own imprint. Verify a copy is from this 2013 issue rather than the later 2015 Subterranean Press trade hardcover, which is stated as 'First Trade Hardcover Edition.'

## Is this the true first?
US self-published 2013 hardcover is the true first. This is the eleventh Bernie Rhodenbarr (Burglar) novel, not the tenth.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue. A separate later Subterranean Press trade hardcover (2015) exists and is not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons* by Lawrence Block a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-burglar-who-counted-the-spoons
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.