The Hamlet

Census claim confirmed. The true first is Random House, New York, 1940 — the opening novel of the Snopes trilogy, completed by The Town (1957) and The Mansion (1959). The first UK edition is Chatto & Windus, London, 1940; it is collected as the English first, but the American issue is the accepted true first. The 250-copy signed limited and the trade first printing are both Random House 1940 and both collected: the limited is a concurrent special issue, not a later first thus, and should not be described as preceding or following the trade.