Is My The Circular Staircase a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The decisive point is the copyright page: the first printing carries "September" together with 1908, reading "COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY" — Bobbs-Merrill's early practice was to show a month only on the copyright page of a first, and a copy without the month statement is a later printing
• Bobbs-Merrill also sometimes used a bow-and-arrow device on the copyright page of pre-1920s firsts, but applied it inconsistently, so its absence alone does not disqualify a copy and its presence alone does not confirm one
• The first is 8vo, 362pp, in publisher's olive / olive-green cloth, pictorially stamped on the spine and upper board — dealers vary on the lettering, described as titles in red with illustrations in black by some and as stamping in black and orange by James Cummins — with a colour frontispiece and six further plates by Lester Ralph
• The author's first book and a Haycraft-Queen cornerstone

How The Bobbs-Merrill Company marked a first edition

• Early firsts (pre-1920s): a month only on the copyright page, with no printing statement.
• Pre-1920s: a bow-and-arrow device (the Bobbs-Merrill colophon) on the copyright page was the era's first-edition signal — but applied inconsistently. Note: standard dealer references (Quill & Brush, ILAB/Biblio) place th…

Full The Bobbs-Merrill Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US precedes UK: The Bobbs-Merrill Company (Indianapolis) 1908 is the true first, and precedence is not in doubt — Rinehart was American and the novel ran first as a serial in All-Story across five issues beginning November 1907, before book publication. The census's "UK Cassell 1909" could not be corroborated in any source consulted; the English edition followed the American, but treat the English publisher and date as unconfirmed rather than repeating Cassell 1909 as established.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The standing trap is the Grosset & Dunlap (New York) reprint, issued by arrangement and retaining the Bobbs-Merrill copyright notice, which misleads buyers who read only the copyright line — the tell is the Grosset & Dunlap imprint on the title page, and some G&D issues carry a pictorial paste-down to the front cover after Lester Ralph. One recorded G&D issue is "by arrangement with Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.," a firm not founded until 1929, so that copy cannot predate 1929 whatever the copyright page says. Any copy lacking "September" with 1908 on the copyright page is a later printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Circular Staircase a first edition?

A first edition of The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart (The Bobbs-Merrill Company) is identified by: The decisive point is the copyright page: the first printing carries "September" together with 1908, reading "COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY" — Bobbs-Merrill's early practice was to show a month only on the copyright page of a first, and a copy without the month statement is a later printing.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US precedes UK: The Bobbs-Merrill Company (Indianapolis) 1908 is the true first, and precedence is not in doubt — Rinehart was American and the novel ran first as a serial in All-Story across five issues beginning November 1907, before book publication.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The standing trap is the Grosset & Dunlap (New York) reprint, issued by arrangement and retaining the Bobbs-Merrill copyright notice, which misleads buyers who read only the copyright line — the tell is the Grosset & Dunlap imprint on the title page, and some G&D issues carry a pictorial paste-down to the front cover after Lester Ralph. One recorded G&D issue is "by arrangement with Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.," a firm not founded until 1929, so that copy cannot predate 1929 whatever the copyright p

I have a first edition of The Circular Staircase — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.