The Murder of Sir Edmund GodfreyNY

The Murder of Sir Edmund Godfrey
London: Hamish Hamilton (October 9, 1936)
NY: Harper & Brothers (November, 1936)

The US edition was published about one month later than the British and is the one pictured at left. There are two US printings (or two editions, depending on how you want to look at it). The first US printing contains sheets that were printed by Carr's British publisher, Hamish Hamilton but bound in a US binding. In Greene's biography of Carr he suggests that the number of sheets purchased from Hamish Hamilton must have been small since this first US printing quickly sold out and a second printing was issued (Note, the second

printing is not identified as such. It contains the FIRST EDITION slug on the verso of the title page). The first US printing has the the illustrations on coated paper while the second printing has the illustrations on text stock. The dustjackets for both US printings are identical.

The first US printing has the date on the title page. The verso of the title page does not contain the Harper FIRST EDITION slug; the only text that appears on the verso is the following:

Printed in Guernsey, Channel Islands, British
Isles by the Star and Gazette Limited.

The UK edition has on the top of the same page:

First Published 1936

Then on the bottom (in Roman capitals):

PRINTED IN GUERNSEY, C.I., BRITISH
ISLES BY THE STAR AND GAZETTE LTD.

The second US printing is identical to the first in all ways except that: the second printing does not have a date on the title page, it has the FIRST EDITION slug on the verso of the title page and the illustrations are on text stock rather than glossy paper.

The following is from Douglas Greene in reference to the UK and US first printings:

"The title page is the same except the the UK has the Hamilton logo, name and date, and the US has the Harpers logo, name and date. The sheets seem to be exactly the same; I can't tell whether the US title page is a cancel (it doesn't seem to be) or whether the printer prepared a new first signature for the US. Carr's correspondence makes it clear that the US version printed in the UK is the 1st US printing."

Greene also mentions that the book was priced at $2.50. However, both of my copies (the first and second printings) are priced at $3.00. If anyone has seen a US copy with a price of $2.50 please let me know.