# Is "The Case of the Negligent Nymph" by Erle Stanley Gardner a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Case of the Negligent Nymph by Erle Stanley Gardner (William Morrow, 1950) is identified by: First published in book form by William Morrow, New York, 1950, a Perry Mason mystery, 275 pages, octavo. The US William Morrow edition of 1950 is the true first; the Perry Mason novels appeared first in the American Morrow trade printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in book form by William Morrow, New York, 1950, a Perry Mason mystery, 275 pages, octavo
- Bound in blue boards stamped in black, in a pictorial dust jacket carrying its printed price on the front flap
- In this period Morrow identified a first printing by the words 'First Printing' followed by the month and year on the copyright page and always noted later printings there; a first-printing copy carries the 'First Printing' line and shows no statement of a later printing
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erle Stanley Gardner |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1950 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in book form by William Morrow, New York, 1950, a Perry Mason mystery, 275 pages, octavo |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First published in book form by William Morrow, New York, 1950, a Perry Mason mystery, 275 pages, octavo. Bound in blue boards stamped in black, in a pictorial dust jacket carrying its printed price on the front flap. In this period Morrow identified a first printing by the words 'First Printing' followed by the month and year on the copyright page and always noted later printings there; a first-printing copy carries the 'First Printing' line and shows no statement of a later printing.

## Is this the true first?
The US William Morrow edition of 1950 is the true first; the Perry Mason novels appeared first in the American Morrow trade printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Morrow printings add a subsequent-printing statement to the copyright page, and a book club edition follows; the first printing bears the 'First Printing' notation with the printed price present on the jacket flap.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Case of the Negligent Nymph* by Erle Stanley Gardner a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-case-of-the-negligent-nymph
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.