# Is "Before Midnight" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Before Midnight by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1955) is identified by: US Viking Press first edition, 1955, first printing. The US Viking Press edition is the true first; a US-originating novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Viking Press first edition, 1955, first printing
- The eighteenth Nero Wolfe novel, narrated by Archie Goodwin
- Bound in pale blue cloth, the front cover and spine stamped in dark blue with the rear cover blank; top edge stained blue
- 184 pages
- First-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap and the Viking ship device
- Otto Penzler's Collecting Mystery Fiction describes the binding as pale blue cloth printed in dark blue
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Viking Press first edition, 1955, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Viking Press first edition, 1955, first printing. The eighteenth Nero Wolfe novel, narrated by Archie Goodwin. Bound in pale blue cloth, the front cover and spine stamped in dark blue with the rear cover blank; top edge stained blue; 184 pages. First-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap and the Viking ship device. Otto Penzler's Collecting Mystery Fiction describes the binding as pale blue cloth printed in dark blue.

## Is this the true first?
The US Viking Press edition is the true first; a US-originating novel.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Jacket-swirl color is the lead tell: the Viking first has gray swirls with blue lettering (title page dated 1955, 'Printed in the USA by Colonial Press Inc.'); the book-club copy has blue swirls, black lettering, and a completely blank back flap. No 'Book Club Edition' flap marking. (identification per rexstoutfirsts.com)

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Before Midnight* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/before-midnight
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.