# Is "The Case of the Worried Waitress" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Worried Waitress by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1966) is identified by: William Morrow and Company, New York, 1966, first printing of this Perry Mason novel (Gardner's 77th). The US William Morrow 1966 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow and Company, New York, 1966, first printing of this Perry Mason novel (Gardner's 77th)
- Bound in red paper-covered boards stamped in black
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price to the front flap and a photograph of Gardner to the rear panel
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow and Company, New York, 1966, first printing of this Perry Mason novel… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
William Morrow and Company, New York, 1966, first printing of this Perry Mason novel (Gardner's 77th). Bound in red paper-covered boards stamped in black. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price to the front flap and a photograph of Gardner to the rear panel.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow 1966 edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Walter J. Black book-club edition (1966) is the commonly encountered non-first; it lacks the Morrow imprint and the printed jacket price. Look for the William Morrow and Company imprint, not Walter J. Black, to identify the true first. Later reprints also follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Worried Waitress* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-worried-waitress
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.