How to identify a first printing
- First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating
- Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first
- Collins Crime Club titles: rely on dust-jacket advertisement dating and absence of reprint notation; Crime Club firsts have well-catalogued jacket points
- After 1990 (HarperCollins) follow HarperCollins number-line conventions
Notable points & cautions
- Collins Crime Club is the key collecting area: Agatha Christie's main UK publisher — Christie firsts are identified largely by FIRST-ISSUE DUST JACKETS and price, not always a clean copyright statement
- The inconsistent copyright-page practice makes jackets and advertisement dating essential for Collins firsts
- Fontana was the mass-market paperback line (not trade firsts)
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Collins Crime Club, Fontana (paperback), Fontana/Collins, Grafton, HarperCollins (successor from 1990), Collins Children's, Armada (children's paperback). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my William Collins, Sons & Co. (Collins) book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. First editions either carry NO additional printing statement on the copyright page or state "First published [Year]" — practice was not fully consistent, so confirm with jacket/ad dating Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first
Does William Collins, Sons & Co. (Collins) use a number line?
Later printings noted with impression lines; their absence supports a first
Is a book-club edition a William Collins, Sons & Co. (Collins) first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Collins Crime Club is the key collecting area: Agatha Christie's main UK publisher — Christie firsts are identified largely by FIRST-ISSUE DUST JACKETS and price, not always a clean copyright statement
What era does this cover?
This covers William Collins, Sons & Co. (Collins) (1819-1990 (independent); HarperCollins thereafter). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
William Collins, Sons & Co. (Collins) titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- 4.50 from Paddington (US: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!) (Agatha Christie, 1957)
- A Murder Is Announced (Agatha Christie, 1950)
- A Pocket Full of Rye (Agatha Christie, 1953)
- After the Funeral (US: Funerals Are Fatal) (Agatha Christie, 1953)
- Crooked House (Agatha Christie, 1949)
- Dead Man's Folly (Agatha Christie, 1956)
- Destination Unknown (US: So Many Steps to Death) (Agatha Christie, 1954)
- Hickory Dickory Dock (US: Hickory Dickory Death) (Agatha Christie, 1955)
- Mrs McGinty's Dead (US: Blood Will Tell) (Agatha Christie, 1952)
- The A.B.C. Murders (Agatha Christie, 1936)
- The Big Four (Agatha Christie, 1927)
- The Murder at the Vicarage (Agatha Christie, 1930)
- The Mystery of the Blue Train (Agatha Christie, 1928)
- The Seven Dials Mystery (Agatha Christie, 1929)
- They Came to Baghdad (Agatha Christie, 1951)
- They Do It with Mirrors (US: Murder with Mirrors) (Agatha Christie, 1952)