# Is "The Case of the Golddigger's Purse" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Golddigger's Purse by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1945) is identified by: William Morrow, New York, first edition May 1945. The US William Morrow edition is the true first; verified against the Erle Stanley Gardner bibliography.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow, New York, first edition May 1945
- A Perry Mason novel; collation vi, 218 pages
- The true first printing shows the same year
- on title and copyright pages with no later-printing statement
- In American printings the title word appears as one word, Golddigger, without a hyphen (the British edition hyphenates as Gold-Digger's)
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1945 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow, New York, first edition May 1945 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
William Morrow, New York, first edition May 1945. A Perry Mason novel; collation vi, 218 pages. The true first printing shows the same year (1945) on title and copyright pages with no later-printing statement. In American printings the title word appears as one word, Golddigger, without a hyphen (the British edition hyphenates as Gold-Digger's).

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow edition is the true first; verified against the Erle Stanley Gardner bibliography.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Golddigger's Purse* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-golddiggers-purse
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.