# Is "The Glass Key" by Dashiell Hammett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett (Alfred A. Knopf, 1931) is identified by: True first is the London Knopf imprint, published 20 January 1931 (Knopf published in Britain for only a few years, in small editions). The London Knopf edition (20 January 1931) precedes the New York Knopf edition (April 1931) by roughly three months and is the true first; the New York printing is generally catalogued as the First American Edition and carries the Borzoi device.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the London Knopf imprint, published 20 January 1931 (Knopf published in Britain for only a few years, in small editions)
- Issued in cloth with dust jacket
- Later British issues bear the Cassell imprint rather than Knopf
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dashiell Hammett |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the London Knopf imprint, published 20 January 1931 (Knopf published in Britain for only a few years, in small editions) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the London Knopf imprint, published 20 January 1931 (Knopf published in Britain for only a few years, in small editions). Issued in cloth with dust jacket. Later British issues bear the Cassell imprint rather than Knopf.

## Is this the true first?
The London Knopf edition (20 January 1931) precedes the New York Knopf edition (April 1931) by roughly three months and is the true first; the New York printing is generally catalogued as the First American Edition and carries the Borzoi device. The novel was serialized in Black Mask in 1930 before book publication.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and reprint editions (Grosset & Dunlap, Pocket, Modern Library, etc.) lack the Knopf Borzoi colophon, are on cheaper bulky paper, often have no price on the jacket flap, and carry reprint statements; no 'First Edition' indication on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Glass Key* by Dashiell Hammett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-glass-key
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.