# Is "The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1955) is identified by: First published by William Morrow & Company, New York, 1955 (following Saturday Evening Post serialization the same year). The US William Morrow book edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by William Morrow & Company, New York, 1955 (following Saturday Evening Post serialization the same year)
- A first edition/first printing carries the Morrow imprint and 1955-dated title page with no later-printing statement, in publisher's cloth with the original dust jacket
- A Perry Mason mystery
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by William Morrow & Company, New York, 1955 (following Saturday Evening… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published by William Morrow & Company, New York, 1955 (following Saturday Evening Post serialization the same year). A first edition/first printing carries the Morrow imprint and 1955-dated title page with no later-printing statement, in publisher's cloth with the original dust jacket. A Perry Mason mystery.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow book edition is the true first. The magazine serialization is a prior appearance but not the first book edition; Morrow precedes later paperbacks and any UK issue.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Cardinal, Pocket, and Ballantine paperback reprints follow the Morrow first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-sun-bathers-diary
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.