Planet of the Apes (La Planète des singes)

The decisive trap is the Cercle du Nouveau Livre issue (Julliard / Le Cercle du Nouveau Livre, 1963): a subscribers' club printing of 10,000 copies in publisher's green cloth cased binding with blind-stamped decoration. Its imprint is dated 8 January 1963 — two days EARLIER than the trade edition — but Camille Sourget records that it was, by arrangement, distributed only after the trade issue expressly so that the trade edition would have the privilege of being first. The earlier printed date therefore does not give it precedence: it is a club printing, not the first edition. The tell is format: green cloth casebound = club; original printed wrappers = trade first.