The Once and Future King

A 1958 Putnam book-club issue is documented and is the commonest US trap; club copies come in a jacket without price at the flap. On the UK side, the Collins September 1958, November 1958 and March 1959 impressions are routinely offered as "first edition" because the copyright page does say first published 1958 — the impression line is what separates them, and dealers who disclose "first edition, fourth impression" are describing a March 1959 book. A first-issue point ("drowing" for "drowning" at p. 226) circulates in trade listings but could not be corroborated against a second independent source and is not asserted here.