# Is "The Case of the Crooked Candle" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Crooked Candle by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1944) is identified by: William Morrow, New York, 1944. The US William Morrow edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow, New York, 1944
- A Perry Mason novel
- The true first printing carries the same year
- on title and copyright pages with no later-printing statement
- The copyright page bears a Victory Edition notice indicating the book was manufactured under the War Production Board's wartime conservation rules, consistent with a 1944 first printing
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1944 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow, New York, 1944 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
William Morrow, New York, 1944. A Perry Mason novel. The true first printing carries the same year (1944) on title and copyright pages with no later-printing statement. The copyright page bears a Victory Edition notice indicating the book was manufactured under the War Production Board's wartime conservation rules, consistent with a 1944 first printing.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints follow and are not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Crooked Candle* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-crooked-candle
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.