Is My The Greek Coffin Mystery a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Stokes signalled a first printing by absence, so the copyright page must be read for what is NOT there: a Stokes first carries no printing statement of any kind beyond the copyright notice itself, and every subsequent printing is noted as "Second," "Third," and so on, either on the title page or on its verso
• The ILAB and Quill & Brush (qbbooks) publisher tables agree on this rule independently, and dealer copies of the Stokes first are catalogued with the edition line "None Stated," consistent with it
• The subtitle "A Problem in Deduction" appears on the title page, and the US text runs to 370 pages
• Reported binding: red boards with black decorative stamping and red and black lettering
• Jacket: identification only — the first-issue jacket is a priced jacket, with the price present at the flap; the Stokes jacket is scarce
• Any Stokes copy noting a printing number on the title page or verso is by definition not the first printing

How Frederick A. Stokes Company marked a first edition

• 1881-1890 (White & Stokes; White, Stokes & Allen; Frederick A. Stokes & Brother): no first-edition statement. Date the book by the imprint name itself, which changed on a known schedule: 'White & Stokes' indicates 1881-1…

Full Frederick A. Stokes Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

Both editions are collected and they are distinct settings, not shared sheets. US: Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1932, 370 pages. UK: Victor Gollancz, London, 1932, 302 pages, in publisher's black cloth lettered red on the spine (two dealers describe the Gollancz cloth; one reads the spine lettering as pink, likely a faded copy). Which of the two appeared first is not documented in any source consulted: the census claim that Stokes precedes Gollancz could not be corroborated and should not be relied on. Fourth Ellery Queen novel.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club or reprint tells specific to this title were documented in the sources consulted. Later trade reprints of Ellery Queen titles appear under their own imprints on the title page and spine rather than Stokes; on the Stokes book itself, the printing notice on the title page or its verso is the operative reprint tell.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Greek Coffin Mystery a first edition?

A first edition of The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) (Frederick A. Stokes Company) is identified by: Stokes signalled a first printing by absence, so the copyright page must be read for what is NOT there: a Stokes first carries no printing statement of any kind beyond the copyright notice itself, and every subsequent printing is noted as "Second," "Third," and so on, either on the title page or on its verso.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. Both editions are collected and they are distinct settings, not shared sheets.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club or reprint tells specific to this title were documented in the sources consulted. Later trade reprints of Ellery Queen titles appear under their own imprints on the title page and spine rather than Stokes; on the Stokes book itself, the printing notice on the title page or its verso is the operative reprint tell.

I have a first edition of The Greek Coffin Mystery — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.