# Is "The Day of the Jackal-era: God Save the Mark" by Donald E. Westlake a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Day of the Jackal-era: God Save the Mark by Donald E. Westlake (Random House, 1967) is identified by: The book is 'God Save the Mark' (the supplied title prefix 'The Day of the Jackal-era' is erroneous and unrelated to this work). The US Random House edition (1967) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The book is 'God Save the Mark' (the supplied title prefix 'The Day of the Jackal-era' is erroneous and unrelated to this work)
- Random House first printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page with no later-printing notice; first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the flap
- A comic crime novel narrated by perennial con-victim Fred Fitch
- Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Donald E. Westlake |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The book is 'God Save the Mark' (the supplied title prefix 'The Day of the Jackal-era' is erroneous and unrelated to this work) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The book is 'God Save the Mark' (the supplied title prefix 'The Day of the Jackal-era' is erroneous and unrelated to this work). Random House first printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page with no later-printing notice; first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the flap. A comic crime novel narrated by perennial con-victim Fred Fitch. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel (1968).

## Is this the true first?
The US Random House edition (1967) is the true first. The title is simply 'God Save the Mark'; the prefix in the source record is a mislabel and should be dropped.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions are common, identifiable by a blind-stamp and absence of a flap price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Day of the Jackal-era: God Save the Mark* by Donald E. Westlake a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-day-of-the-jackal-era-god-save-the-mark
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.