# Is "The Greek Coffin Mystery" by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) (Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1932) 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. Both editions are collected and they are distinct settings, not shared sheets.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Frederick A. Stokes Company

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) |
| Publisher | Frederick A. Stokes Company |
| Year | 1932 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | 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… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Greek Coffin Mystery* by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-greek-coffin-mystery
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.