# Is "The Case of the Lucky Legs" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Lucky Legs by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1934) is identified by: William Morrow & Company, New York, 1934 first printing, with 1934 on the title page and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page. The US William Morrow edition (1934) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- William Morrow & Company, New York, 1934 first printing, with 1934 on the title page and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page
- Bound in black cloth with bold red lettering to the spine and upper board
- The third Perry Mason novel, following The Case of the Velvet Claws and The Case of the Sulky Girl (both 1933); early Mason firsts had small print runs and are scarce, especially in bright jacketed condition
- The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price and is not clipped
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1934 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | William Morrow & Company, New York, 1934 first printing, with 1934 on the title page and no statement of a later printing on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
William Morrow & Company, New York, 1934 first printing, with 1934 on the title page and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth with bold red lettering to the spine and upper board. The third Perry Mason novel, following The Case of the Velvet Claws and The Case of the Sulky Girl (both 1933); early Mason firsts had small print runs and are scarce, especially in bright jacketed condition. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price and is not clipped.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow edition (1934) is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Grosset & Dunlap and other reprints follow, typically in different cloth without the red spine/board lettering and lacking the original priced Morrow jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Lucky Legs* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-lucky-legs
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.