# Is "The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife by Erle Stanley Gardner (The M.S. Mill Co., 1945) is identified by: Mill Co., New York, 1945, part of the Mill circle mysteries series. The true first appeared under the M.S.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The M.S. Mill Co., New York, 1945, part of the Mill circle mysteries series
- A Perry Mason novel
- The first-printing imprint is M.S. Mill, whose stated address (425 Fourth Avenue) was in fact Morrow's own address
- M.S. Mill functioned as a Morrow imprint
- The copyright page makes no reference to arrangement with or permission from William Morrow
- Dealers routinely catalogue the M.S. Mill issue as the first edition
- Publisher imprint reads The M.S. Mill Co.

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | The M.S. Mill Co. |
| Year | 1945 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The M.S. Mill Co., New York, 1945, part of the Mill circle mysteries series |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The M.S. Mill Co., New York, 1945, part of the Mill circle mysteries series. A Perry Mason novel. The first-printing imprint is M.S. Mill, whose stated address (425 Fourth Avenue) was in fact Morrow's own address; M.S. Mill functioned as a Morrow imprint. The copyright page makes no reference to arrangement with or permission from William Morrow. Dealers routinely catalogue the M.S. Mill issue as the first edition.

## Is this the true first?
The true first appeared under the M.S. Mill imprint (a Morrow imprint), not under the Morrow name; the ESG bibliography notes it is uncertain any 1945 printing bearing the Morrow name exists, so records should cite M.S. Mill, not William Morrow, as the first-printing publisher.

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

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-half-wakened-wife
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.