Is My Traitor's Purse a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the Heinemann issue, London, February 1941: original orange cloth lettered in black, jacket artwork by C.W. Bacon, a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• Heinemann first impressions show only the 'First published 1941' line on the title verso; a 'New impression' or dated reprint line beneath it rules the copy out
• The first American edition — Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, Doran, New York, 1941, 280 pages, 21 cm (Library of Congress, LCCN 41003900) — retains the title Traitor's Purse and is bound in green decorative buckram lettered in black on upper cover and spine, with a black topstain
• Doubleday, Doran first printings state 'First Edition' on the copyright page; a copy lacking that line is a later printing

How William Heinemann marked a first edition

• From the 1920s onward: "First published [Year]" or "First published in Great Britain [Year]" stated on the copyright page, with later impressions noted beneath
• First printing = statement present AND no list of subsequent impressions

Full William Heinemann 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 UK 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?

UK precedes. Heinemann, London published in February 1941 (Margery Allingham Society); the Crime Club / Doubleday, Doran first American edition followed the same year. Both are collected — the Heinemann as the true first, the Crime Club as the first American. CENSUS NOTE CORRECTED: Wikipedia and sources derived from it state the US edition appeared as 'The Sabotage Murder Mystery'. That is wrong for the hardcover. The Library of Congress records the 1941 Doubleday, Doran / Crime Club hardcover under the title Traitor's Purse (LCCN 41003900), and an ABAA dealer's first American edition is likewise titled Traitor's Purse. 'The Sabotage Murder Mystery' is the 1943 New Avon Library paperback retitle (LCCN 44008412, 280 pages, 17 cm) — a 'first thus' trap, not a first edition in any market.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1943 New Avon Library paperback retitled The Sabotage Murder Mystery is the commonest reprint mistaken for the US first; it is a 17 cm paperback carrying the Avon imprint and, per the LC record, garbles the original title as 'Traitor's curse'. On the US hardcover, a Doubleday, Doran copyright page without the 'First Edition' line is a later printing. No book-club printing of the Heinemann issue is documented in the sources consulted.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Traitor's Purse a first edition?

A first edition of Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham (William Heinemann) is identified by: True first is the Heinemann issue, London, February 1941: original orange cloth lettered in black, jacket artwork by C.W.

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. UK precedes.

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

The 1943 New Avon Library paperback retitled The Sabotage Murder Mystery is the commonest reprint mistaken for the US first; it is a 17 cm paperback carrying the Avon imprint and, per the LC record, garbles the original title as 'Traitor's curse'. On the US hardcover, a Doubleday, Doran copyright page without the 'First Edition' line is a later printing. No book-club printing of the Heinemann issue is documented in the sources consulted.

I have a first edition of Traitor's Purse — 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.