How to Identify a The Crime Club / Doubleday Crime Club First Edition

How to identify a first printing

• Follows parent Doubleday house practice: word 'First Edition' on the copyright page denotes a first printing; the statement is removed on later printings (true for most of the run).
• Gutter/printer dating code at the foot of the last page of text is the most reliable tool. Early period (to ~1958) used a numeric week code (1-52). From early 1959 to 1987 a LETTER prefix was added for year (A=1959, B=1960 ... AA=1985), so a first printing should carry the code matching the stated publication year — a later year-letter on a 'First Edition'-stated book signals a later printing or remainder.
• Crime Club 'Bullseye' symbols (skull = homicide/humor, owl = suspense, gun/pistol = fast action, etc.), introduced 1943 by editor Isabelle Taylor, printed on spine and on the bound-in blurb — useful for series authentication and dating.
• Definitive reference: Ellen Nehr, 'Doubleday Crime Club Compendium 1928-1991', which gives jacket/binding points title-by-title.

Notable points & cautions

• The Crime Club was a Doubleday imprint (1928-1991), not an independent house; identification piggybacks on Doubleday conventions, with the wrinkle that 'First Edition' was sometimes retained on later printings late in the run — cross-check the gutter code.
• Book Club editions are a major confusion: Doubleday's own Dollar Mystery Guild / Detective Book Club reprints look similar but lack 'First Edition' AND have blind-stamped board dimples or gutter codes that don't match the first-printing year; BCEs are usually cheaper paper and smaller.
• Jackets are everything for value here — many points of issue are jacket price and rear-panel ads, not the book block.

Imprints

First editions also appear under: Doubleday, Doran Crime Club, Doubleday Crime Club, Crime Club Bullseyes (genre symbol classification). Each generally follows the house convention above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my The Crime Club / Doubleday Crime Club book is a first edition?

Check the copyright page. Follows parent Doubleday house practice: word 'First Edition' on the copyright page denotes a first printing; the statement is removed on later printings (true for most of the run). Gutter/printer dating code at the foot of the last page of text is the most reliable tool. Early period (to ~1958) used a numeric week code (1-52). From early 1959 to 1987 a LETTER prefix was added for year (A=1959, B=1960 ... AA=1985), so a first printing should carry the code matching the stated publication year — a later year-letter on a 'First Edition'-stated book signals a later printing or remainder.

Does The Crime Club / Doubleday Crime Club use a number line?

Gutter/printer dating code at the foot of the last page of text is the most reliable tool. Early period (to ~1958) used a numeric week code (1-52). From early 1959 to 1987 a LETTER prefix was added for year (A=1959, B=1960 ... AA=1985), so a first printing should carry the code matching the stated publication year — a later year-letter on a 'First Edition'-stated book signals a later printing or remainder.

Is a book-club edition a The Crime Club / Doubleday Crime Club first edition?

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. The Crime Club was a Doubleday imprint (1928-1991), not an independent house; identification piggybacks on Doubleday conventions, with the wrinkle that 'First Edition' was sometimes retained on later printings late in the run — cross-check the gutter code.

What era does this cover?

This covers The Crime Club / Doubleday Crime Club (1928-1991). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.