# Is "The Court of Last Resort" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Court of Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Sloane Associates, 1952) is identified by: William Sloane Associates, New York, 1952, first printing. The US William Sloane Associates 1952 edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Sloane Associates, New York, 1952, first printing
- Gardner's nonfiction true-crime advocacy work, an outgrowth of his Argosy magazine column on wrongful convictions
- Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime
- A non-Perry-Mason collectible
- Publisher imprint reads William Sloane Associates
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Sloane Associates |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Sloane Associates, New York, 1952, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
William Sloane Associates, New York, 1952, first printing. Gardner's nonfiction true-crime advocacy work, an outgrowth of his Argosy magazine column on wrongful convictions. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. A non-Perry-Mason collectible.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Sloane Associates 1952 edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprint and paperback editions follow; the Sloane first printing is the first appearance in book form.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Court of Last Resort* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-court-of-last-resort
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.