# Is "The Final Deduction" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Final Deduction by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1961) is identified by: Viking Press, New York, 1961. US Viking edition is the true first; Stout was an American author published first in the United States.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Viking Press, New York, 1961
- A Nero Wolfe novel
- Red cloth, front cover and spine printed in blue, with blue topstain; issued in a mainly red dust wrapper (jacket art by Bill English)
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Viking Press, New York, 1961 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Viking Press, New York, 1961. A Nero Wolfe novel. Red cloth, front cover and spine printed in blue, with blue topstain; issued in a mainly red dust wrapper (jacket art by Bill English).

## Is this the true first?
US Viking edition is the true first; Stout was an American author published first in the United States.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and paperback reprints follow the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Final Deduction* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-final-deduction
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.