# Is "The Franchise Affair" by Josephine Tey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (Peter Davies, 1948) is identified by: London: Peter Davies, 1948; the first printing's copyright page reads 'First published 1948' with no reprint or Popular Edition notice. UK Peter Davies 1948 is the true first; the first American edition is New York: Macmillan, 1949.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Peter Davies, 1948; the first printing's copyright page reads 'First published 1948' with no reprint or Popular Edition notice
- Dealer catalogs record the first-issue dust jacket, illustrated by Ray Russell, as unclipped with the original price present at the flap; jacketed firsts of both the London and New York editions are notably scarce
- Trade descriptions of the cloth conflict (blue cloth with an iron-gate design stamped on the front cover is reported, as is red cloth), so the copyright-page statement and first-issue jacket are the reliable tests, not binding color
- Publisher imprint reads Peter Davies
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Josephine Tey |
| Publisher | Peter Davies |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: Peter Davies, 1948; the first printing's copyright page reads 'First published 1948' with no reprint or Popular Edition notice |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
London: Peter Davies, 1948; the first printing's copyright page reads 'First published 1948' with no reprint or Popular Edition notice. Dealer catalogs record the first-issue dust jacket, illustrated by Ray Russell, as unclipped with the original price present at the flap; jacketed firsts of both the London and New York editions are notably scarce. Trade descriptions of the cloth conflict (blue cloth with an iron-gate design stamped on the front cover is reported, as is red cloth), so the copyright-page statement and first-issue jacket are the reliable tests, not binding color.

## Is this the true first?
UK Peter Davies 1948 is the true first; the first American edition is New York: Macmillan, 1949. Both are collected, with the London edition taking precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Peter Davies issued a cheaper 'Popular Edition' in 1950 whose jacket carries review blurbs and a lower flap price; that jacket is sometimes found wrapping first-printing sheets, so always match the jacket to the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Franchise Affair* by Josephine Tey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-franchise-affair
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.