Is My The Crooked Hinge a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The Harper & Brothers issue, New York and London, 1938, states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper two-letter printing code I-N — I = September, N = 1938 — so a first printing is a September 1938 printing (code confirmed on dealer copies at MLC Books; 'first edition stated' independently confirmed at Midway Book Store and Buckingham Books)
• Bound in orange cloth lettered in green on front board and spine; octavo, about 7 the printed price by 5 the printed price inches
• Collates 4 preliminary leaves plus pages 3-289, 20 cm (Library of Congress, LCCN 38030227)
• Sunning routinely flattens the green lettering toward grey, which accounts for dealer descriptions of 'grey lettering' on the same binding
• The jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap
• The UK Hamish Hamilton issue, London 1938, is green cloth lettered in black, jacket artwork by Abbey, also a priced jacket (Goldeneye Rare Books bibliography)

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.

Full Harper & Brothers 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?

Both the Harper (New York) and Hamish Hamilton (London) editions appeared in 1938 and both are collected. The census claims US precedence; the Harper code I-N fixes the American printing to September 1938, but no source consulted gives a month for the Hamish Hamilton issue, so month-level precedence is NOT established — treat 'US first' as conventional rather than proven, particularly given that a Carr-scholarship source dates the companion title The Burning Court's UK issue ahead of its US issue. Wider Carr trap to keep in view: his US and UK editions frequently carry different titles (The Hollow Man / The Three Coffins; The Black Spectacles / The Problem of the Green Capsule), though The Crooked Hinge is titled identically in both markets.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A Harper copyright page without the 'FIRST EDITION' line, or carrying a code other than I-N, is a later printing. Beware Harper's year-letter recycling: Harper began reusing year letters in 1937 on a 25-letter cycle (J omitted), so I-N can in principle also read September 1963 — the 1938 book is separated by its period binding, paper and jacket design, and by the Harper & Brothers imprint itself (the firm became Harper & Row in 1962). The 1957 Harper omnibus 'John Dickson Carr Trio' (LCCN 56008777), the University of California Extension issue (1976, LCCN 76056880), Collier Books (1984, LCCN 84005016) and Penzler Publishers (2019) are reprints.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Crooked Hinge a first edition?

A first edition of The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: The Harper & Brothers issue, New York and London, 1938, states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together with the Harper two-letter printing code I-N — I = September, N = 1938 — so a first printing is a September 1938 printing (code confirmed on dealer copies at MLC Books; 'first edition stated' independently confirmed at Midway Book Store and Buckingham Books).

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. Both the Harper (New York) and Hamish Hamilton (London) editions appeared in 1938 and both are collected.

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

A Harper copyright page without the 'FIRST EDITION' line, or carrying a code other than I-N, is a later printing. Beware Harper's year-letter recycling: Harper began reusing year letters in 1937 on a 25-letter cycle (J omitted), so I-N can in principle also read September 1963 — the 1938 book is separated by its period binding, paper and jacket design, and by the Harper & Brothers imprint itself (the firm became Harper & Row in 1962). The 1957 Harper omnibus 'John Dickson Carr Trio' (LCCN 560087

I have a first edition of The Crooked Hinge — 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.