# Is "The Rubber Band" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Rubber Band by Rex Stout (Farrar & Rinehart, 1936) is identified by: Farrar & Rinehart, 1936. US Farrar & Rinehart is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Farrar & Rinehart, 1936
- Identified by the publisher's monogram device on the copyright page; absence of the device indicates a later printing
- A Nero Wolfe novel
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar & Rinehart
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Farrar & Rinehart |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Farrar & Rinehart, 1936 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Farrar & Rinehart, 1936. Identified by the publisher's monogram device on the copyright page; absence of the device indicates a later printing. A Nero Wolfe novel.

## Is this the true first?
US Farrar & Rinehart is the true first. A UK Collins edition appeared in 1936 under the title 'The Rubber Band'; the US edition is the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and book-club issues lack the Farrar & Rinehart monogram on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Rubber Band* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-rubber-band
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.