# Is "The Fugitive Pigeon" by Donald E. Westlake a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Fugitive Pigeon by Donald E. Westlake (Random House, 1965) is identified by: Random House (New York) 1965 hardcover is the first edition, octavo, bound in blue and black paper-covered boards stamped in red with a red topstain, collating [viii] 172 [2] pages. The US Random House hardcover is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Random House (New York) 1965 hardcover is the first edition, octavo, bound in blue and black paper-covered boards stamped in red with a red topstain, collating [viii] 172 [2] pages
- The first-issue dust jacket is pink and must retain the printed price on the front flap, unclipped
- An early Westlake comic-crime novel published under his own name
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Donald E. Westlake |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Random House (New York) 1965 hardcover is the first edition, octavo, bound in blue and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Random House (New York) 1965 hardcover is the first edition, octavo, bound in blue and black paper-covered boards stamped in red with a red topstain, collating [viii] 172 [2] pages. The first-issue dust jacket is pink and must retain the printed price on the front flap, unclipped. An early Westlake comic-crime novel published under his own name.

## Is this the true first?
The US Random House hardcover is the true first. The UK edition (Boardman, 1966, with a Denis McLoughlin cover) followed and is not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions of this era are identifiable by a blindstamped dot or square on the rear board and by a jacket with no printed price on the front flap; a Book-of-the-Month Club printing of this title is known.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Fugitive Pigeon* by Donald E. Westlake a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-fugitive-pigeon
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.