# Is "The Mother Hunt" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1963) is identified by: First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1963, with 'Published in 1963' stated on the copyright page and no later-printing designations. Stout was American and the book appeared first in the US; the Viking Press edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1963, with 'Published in 1963' stated on the copyright page and no later-printing designations
- Gray cloth with spine lettering dropping out of blue and pink panels, in a predominantly white pictorial dust jacket lettered on the spine in black and blue; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed front-flap price
- A Nero Wolfe novel, 182 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1963, with 'Published in 1963' stated on the copyright page and no later-printing… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition published by The Viking Press, New York, 1963, with 'Published in 1963' stated on the copyright page and no later-printing designations. Gray cloth with spine lettering dropping out of blue and pink panels, in a predominantly white pictorial dust jacket lettered on the spine in black and blue; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed front-flap price. A Nero Wolfe novel, 182 pages.

## Is this the true first?
Stout was American and the book appeared first in the US; the Viking Press edition is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Binding is the tell: the Viking first is light-gray cloth with a pink-and-blue safety-pin motif and a the printed price / 'The Viking Press New York' flap, while the book-club edition is blue boards with a pink spine and runs taller (8.55" vs 8.3"). No 'Book Club Edition' flap marking. (identification per rexstoutfirsts.com)

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mother Hunt* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mother-hunt
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.