How to identify a first printing
- Prior to 1976: firsts have NO additional printings listed on the copyright page (no number line, no later-printing notice).
- Late 1976 onward: a sequence of numbers on the copyright page with '1' present indicates the first printing.
Notable points & cautions
- For pre-1976 titles the only reliable signal is the absence of any later-printing notice — there is no positive 'First Edition' statement to rely on.
- Long-running house (Agatha Christie's US publisher) — title-level points often matter more than the house rule.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Dodd, Mead, Red Badge Mystery, Apollo Editions. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Dodd, Mead & Company book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Prior to 1976: firsts have NO additional printings listed on the copyright page (no number line, no later-printing notice). Late 1976 onward: a sequence of numbers on the copyright page with '1' present indicates the first printing.
Does Dodd, Mead & Company use a number line?
Late 1976 onward: a sequence of numbers on the copyright page with '1' present indicates the first printing.
Is a book-club edition a Dodd, Mead & Company first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. For pre-1976 titles the only reliable signal is the absence of any later-printing notice — there is no positive 'First Edition' statement to rely on.
What era does this cover?
This covers Dodd, Mead & Company (1870s-1980s). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Dodd, Mead & Company 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.
- Afternoons in Mid-America (Erskine Caldwell, 1976)
- Death Comes as the End (Agatha Christie, 1944)
- Five Little Pigs (US: Murder in Retrospect) (Agatha Christie, 1942)
- Jonathan Troy (Edward Abbey, 1954)
- Lyrics of Lowly Life (Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1896)
- N or M? (Agatha Christie, 1941)
- North with the Spring (Edwin Way Teale, 1951)
- Piccadilly Jim (P.G. Wodehouse, 1917)
- The Big Heat (William P. McGivern, 1953)
- The Body in the Library (Agatha Christie, 1942)
- The Brave Cowboy (Edward Abbey, 1956)
- The Delight Makers (Adolph F. Bandelier, 1890)
- The Matchlock Gun (Walter D. Edmonds, 1941)
- The Moving Finger (Agatha Christie, 1942)
- The Murder on the Links (Agatha Christie, 1923)
- Towards Zero (Agatha Christie, 1944)