# Is "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (John Murray, 1927) is identified by: First edition: John Murray, London, published 16 June 1927 in a run of 15,150 copies, in publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front board (Green & Gibson A46a); the red cloth fades readily and bright copies are uncommon, and the dust jacket is notably scarce. Correction to the census claim: the Murray (London) and Doran (New York) editions were published simultaneously — same day, June 1927 — per the Camden House canon reference and standard publication histories, so neither has clean precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition: John Murray, London, published 16 June 1927 in a run of 15,150 copies, in publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front board (Green & Gibson A46a); the red cloth fades readily and bright copies are uncommon, and the dust jacket is notably scarce
- A colonial issue appeared the same day (about 5,000 copies) in grey cloth with "Murray's Imperial Library" lettered on the front board — a distinct issue, not the home first
- First American edition: George H. Doran, New York, 1927 (Green & Gibson A46c), tan coarse cloth lettered in red, 320 pp; the UK title hyphenates "Case-Book" while the US rendering is "Case Book"
- Publisher imprint reads John Murray
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| Publisher | John Murray |
| Year | 1927 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition: John Murray, London, published 16 June 1927 in a run of 15,150 copies, in publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition: John Murray, London, published 16 June 1927 in a run of 15,150 copies, in publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and front board (Green & Gibson A46a); the red cloth fades readily and bright copies are uncommon, and the dust jacket is notably scarce. A colonial issue appeared the same day (about 5,000 copies) in grey cloth with "Murray's Imperial Library" lettered on the front board — a distinct issue, not the home first. First American edition: George H. Doran, New York, 1927 (Green & Gibson A46c), tan coarse cloth lettered in red, 320 pp; the UK title hyphenates "Case-Book" while the US rendering is "Case Book".

## Is this the true first?
Correction to the census claim: the Murray (London) and Doran (New York) editions were published simultaneously — same day, June 1927 — per the Camden House canon reference and standard publication histories, so neither has clean precedence. Collectors conventionally treat the Murray London edition as the primary first; both are collected. This is the last Holmes collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The same-day grey-cloth colonial issue ("Murray's Imperial Library") must not be confused with the home first. For the Doran edition, one ABAA dealer records a second-issue jacket carrying review blurbs on the rear panel (single-source; treat as a jacket-state indicator, not settled doctrine).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes* by Arthur Conan Doyle a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-book-of-sherlock-holmes
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.