Josephine Tey First Editions

• A Shilling for Candles — 1936 · Methuen & Co.Issued by Methuen & Co., London, 1936, with the full title on the title page reading "A Shilling for Candles. The Story of a Crime"; it is the first book published under the Josephine Tey pseudonym. Methuen's house practice from 1905 onward, per the Quill & Brush publisher reference, was to state "First published in [Year]" on the copyright page of a first edition and to note subsequent printings, so a first…. The UK Methuen (London) 1936 edition is the true first and the only contemporary edition of the text. No American edition followed for eighteen years: the first American edition is The Macmillan Company, New York, 1954, issued in Macmillan's "Murder Revisited" series. Both editions are collected, but the Macmillan 1954 is a first American edition only and must never be described as a first edition of the work;…. No book-club issue of the 1936 Methuen printing is documented. Later-issue tells: Methuen reprints and later editions carry the corresponding reprint/edition notice on the copyright page (a Methuen copy catalogued "2nd Edition" is recorded). All Pan (from 1958), Berkley, Dell and Folio Society appearances are plainly later reprints under their own imprints and title-page names.
• Miss Pym Disposes — 1946 · Peter DaviesCONFIRMED, WITH THE YEAR CORRECTED. The first edition is Peter Davies, London, and its copyright page states "First published 1946" — but the book was not actually issued until 1947, and two independent sources establish this. The Library of Congress catalogues the Peter Davies edition as "London, P. Davies [1947]" carrying the explicit note: "First published 1946 [i.e. 1947]"; the Classic Crime Fiction checklist…. UK precedes US, so the census claim's precedence is confirmed — but its year is corrected. The true first is Peter Davies, London, stated 1946 and actually issued May 1947; the first American edition is Macmillan, New York, 1948 (copyright 1947). Both are collected — name both. The stated-1946 / issued-1947 split is the single most useful fact about this book: it is one edition, not two, and neither year alone…. No book-club issue points specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted. Check the general tells: an unpriced jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and reduced bulk against the trade issue. Because the copyright page of a genuine first carries a 1946 statement, later omnibus- and reprint-derived issues (Macmillan 1954….
• The Franchise Affair — 1948 · Peter DaviesLondon: Peter Davies, 1948; the first printing's copyright page reads 'First published 1948' with no reprint or Popular Edition notice. Dealer catalogs record the first-issue dust jacket, illustrated by Ray Russell, as unclipped with the original price present at the flap; jacketed firsts of both the London and New York editions are notably scarce. Trade descriptions of the cloth conflict (blue cloth with an…. UK Peter Davies 1948 is the true first; the first American edition is New York: Macmillan, 1949. Both are collected, with the London edition taking precedence. Peter Davies issued a cheaper 'Popular Edition' in 1950 whose jacket carries review blurbs and a lower flap price; that jacket is sometimes found wrapping first-printing sheets, so always match the jacket to the copyright page.
• Brat Farrar — 1949 · Peter DaviesCONFIRMED. The true first is Peter Davies, London, 1949; the Library of Congress catalogues it as "London, P. Davies [1949]", the square brackets indicating the year is supplied by the cataloguer and is not printed on the title page. The Classic Crime Fiction first-edition checklist records the binding as brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and a priced jacket (price present at the flap); a Cotswold Internet…. UK precedes US, and the census claim is confirmed as written. Peter Davies, London, 1949 is the true first; Macmillan, New York, 1950 (copyright 1949) is the first American edition and is collected in its own right — name both. "Come and Kill Me" is not a separate work and not a first: it is the retitled US Pocket Books paperback issue of 1951, a first-thus trap. Likewise the Macmillan "Three by Tey" omnibus (New…. No book-club issue points specific to this title are documented in the sources consulted; the general tells apply and should be checked. On the US side, a Doubleday/Macmillan-era book-club copy typically shows an unpriced jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the flap, a blind stamp debossed into the rear board near the spine, and a lighter, smaller bulk than the trade issue. The Collier Books (1988,….
• The Daughter of Time — 1951 · Peter DaviesLondon: Peter Davies, 1951; 222 pp in publisher's red cloth lettered in black. The first printing's copyright page reads 'First Published June 1951' with no reprint lines beneath it — Peter Davies added dated reprint notices (July 1951, October 1951, September 1952) to later impressions, so any reprint line rules a copy out. The first-issue dust jacket is unclipped with the original price present at the lower flap. UK Peter Davies 1951 is the true first and precedes the first American edition (New York: Macmillan, 1952 — title page dated 1952, copyright page dated 1951, jacket design by Leo Manso). Both editions are collected; the London edition takes precedence. It was Tey's last novel published in her lifetime. Peter Davies reprints self-identify with dated 'reprinted' lines under the 'First Published June 1951' statement; a price-clipped jacket cannot be confirmed as first issue.

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