# Is "The Miernik Dossier" by Charles McCarry a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Miernik Dossier by Charles McCarry (Saturday Review Press, 1973) is identified by: Collation [vi], 278 pages, octavo. The census claim holds.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Collation [vi], 278 pages, octavo
- Quarter binding: publisher's boards with a red cloth backstrip lettered in gilt, and a red topstain to the text block — these binding points are corroborated across independent dealer descriptions and are the most reliable identifiers
- The jacket was issued with a wrap-around promotional band, which is frequently absent; a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap is expected on an unclipped copy
- Caution, stated honestly: no first-edition designation practice for the Saturday Review Press imprint is documented in the standard publisher references consulted (the Quill & Brush publisher list does not cover it), and dealers identify firsts by the 1973 date and the absence of later-printing wording rather than by any quoted statement or number line
- Rely on the binding, topstain, and collation; do not assert a copyright-page statement that is not documented
- Publisher imprint reads Saturday Review Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles McCarry |
| Publisher | Saturday Review Press |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Collation [vi], 278 pages, octavo |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Collation [vi], 278 pages, octavo. Quarter binding: publisher's boards with a red cloth backstrip lettered in gilt, and a red topstain to the text block — these binding points are corroborated across independent dealer descriptions and are the most reliable identifiers. The jacket was issued with a wrap-around promotional band, which is frequently absent; a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap is expected on an unclipped copy. Caution, stated honestly: no first-edition designation practice for the Saturday Review Press imprint is documented in the standard publisher references consulted (the Quill & Brush publisher list does not cover it), and dealers identify firsts by the 1973 date and the absence of later-printing wording rather than by any quoted statement or number line. Rely on the binding, topstain, and collation; do not assert a copyright-page statement that is not documented.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim holds. The true first is Saturday Review Press (New York), 1973 — McCarry's debut novel and the first appearance of Paul Christopher. The imprint was being absorbed by E. P. Dutton at this date, and some copies and catalogue records carry a conjoined Saturday Review Press / E. P. Dutton imprint; both represent the American first. The British first is Hutchinson (London), 1974, a year later; it is collected as the UK first and is identified by Hutchinson's stated practice of printing "First published (Year)" or "First published in Great Britain (Year)" on the copyright page.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted for the 1973 first. Standard American book-club tells apply to any suspect copy: a blind stamp (dot, circle, or square) impressed on the rear board, absence of a price at the jacket flap on an unclipped jacket, smaller trim size, and cheaper paper and board stock.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Miernik Dossier* by Charles McCarry a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-miernik-dossier
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.