# Is "The Red Box" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Red Box by Rex Stout (Farrar & Rinehart, 1937) is identified by: First published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1937. The US Farrar & Rinehart edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1937
- The first printing carries the F&R publisher's monogram (colophon) on the copyright page; later printings drop it
- Gray cloth lettered in red, issued in a pictorial dust jacket
- Fifth Nero Wolfe novel
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar & Rinehart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Farrar & Rinehart |
| Year | 1937 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1937 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1937. The first printing carries the F&R publisher's monogram (colophon) on the copyright page; later printings drop it. Gray cloth lettered in red, issued in a pictorial dust jacket. Fifth Nero Wolfe novel.

## Is this the true first?
The US Farrar & Rinehart edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later F&R printings and subsequent reprints/book-club issues follow.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Red Box* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-red-box
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.