How to Identify a Collins Crime Club First Edition

How to identify a first printing

• Collins (UK) generally did NOT use 'First Edition' statements or number lines in the classic era; firsts are identified by the absence of later-printing/reprint notices on the copyright/verso page combined with a publication date matching the jacket.
• For collected authors (Agatha Christie etc.), identification is point-driven: jacket price, rear-panel advertisements, and the famous Crime Club 'gunman' device on the jacket. 'A Crime Club Sixpenny' lettered in the gunman's arm dates the cheaper line.
• First-state jacket points are documented title-by-title (e.g., specific rear-panel ads — OXO, H. Samuel, Bravingtons — on early-1930s sixpenny issues).
• Cross-reference gadetection's Collins Crime Club UK first-editions list and Christie bibliographies (nocloo, collectingchristie).

Notable points & cautions

• Ran 6 May 1930 to April 1994; ~2,012 titles. Pre-war firsts in jacket are the prize, with vivid gunman-device jacket art.
• Easy to confuse the cloth Crime Club hardback first with the Collins White Circle paperback reprint — White Circles are paperbacks and never the true first.
• US Dodd, Mead / Dell Mapback editions of the same Christie titles are separate publications, not the UK Collins first; dating and points differ entirely.
• Date-matching is essential: Collins reprinted popular titles quickly with no obvious printing statement, so a copy must be tied to first-state jacket points, not just the verso.

Imprints

First editions also appear under: William Collins, Sons (parent), Collins Crime Club, Collins White Circle (paperback line). Each generally follows the house convention above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my Collins Crime Club book is a first edition?

Check the copyright page. Collins (UK) generally did NOT use 'First Edition' statements or number lines in the classic era; firsts are identified by the absence of later-printing/reprint notices on the copyright/verso page combined with a publication date matching the jacket. For collected authors (Agatha Christie etc.), identification is point-driven: jacket price, rear-panel advertisements, and the famous Crime Club 'gunman' device on the jacket. 'A Crime Club Sixpenny' lettered in the gunman's arm dates the cheaper line.

Does Collins Crime Club use a number line?

For collected authors (Agatha Christie etc.), identification is point-driven: jacket price, rear-panel advertisements, and the famous Crime Club 'gunman' device on the jacket. 'A Crime Club Sixpenny' lettered in the gunman's arm dates the cheaper line.

Is a book-club edition a Collins Crime Club first edition?

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Ran 6 May 1930 to April 1994; ~2,012 titles. Pre-war firsts in jacket are the prize, with vivid gunman-device jacket art.

What era does this cover?

This covers Collins Crime Club (1930-1994). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.