IN FOCUS: Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table.

For the last few years Agatha Christie Limited has promoted reading (or re-reading) Christie books through their Read Christie campaigns.  Each month a different novel is selected that will be a focus for their online book club.  To further build on this focus, I periodically profile one of their selections. For May 2025, they have chosen Cards on the Table.

The book features Hercule Poirot, along with a few other characters who appear in several other Christie stories. They are Colonel Race, Superintendent Battle, and the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver in a Poirot novel. In one of the smallest closed-circle mysteries written by Christie, the four detectives try to determine which of four suspects committed a murder during a game of bridge. The solution is not clue-based but determined by consideration of the psychology of the suspects.

The story first appeared in magazines in mid-1936 while the novel was first published later that year in the UK. Rather uniquely, Agatha Christie provided a foreword to this novel given its unique structure with limited characters. Once published, newspaper reviews were quite positive as shown in these two examples from the British press.

First Appearances:

This story first appeared in magazines both in the US and UK.  In the US, it was published in The Saturday Evening Post from May 2nd, 1936, to June 6th, 1936 (Vol. 208, No. 44-49). Only the initial issue referenced the story on the cover. Each edition can generally be acquired for $20-$30. Some patience may be needed to find all the issues.

In the UK, Home Journal magazine published the story, starting on the same day but over one more instalment; thus ending June 13th (Vol. 5, No. 113-119). Home Journal is an uncommon and little-known magazine. It was published by Amalgamated Press weekly from 1934 to 1939, when it was incorporated into Woman's Pictorial, another magazine in Amalgamated’s catalogue. I don’t recall ever seeing issues with Cards on the Table arise for sale. I would expect them to garner £50 per issue, but this is very speculative. If any collector has images of this publication with this story in it, please contact me.

First Book Editions:

First Edition: Published by William Collins and Sons (London) as part of their Collins Crime Club imprint. The book was released on November 2nd, 1936, priced 7/6 net (seven shillings and sixpence).  Collins was still using thicker paper (as this was pre-war), and the book was shod in orange cloth.

The condition of the jacket is of utmost importance in determining a fair price for this book.  In a ‘very good’ condition it is valued at £10,000 ($13,000). The book without a jacket is valued at £400 ($520) when in very good condition. Collectors should be conscious of married price-clipped jackets as many future printings had a similar design. The correct first state jacket (image at the beginning of the article), in addition to a 7/6 price on the front flap, has the outline of a playing card on the rear with the logos of the four card suits and several quotes from reviewers. Later editions reference other books by Christie – typically titles first published after 1936.

First American Edition: The novel was published by Dodd Mead and Company (New York) early the following year on February 9th, 1937, and was priced $2.00 on the front flap. While it does state 1937 on the title page, the copyright page says 1936 which may lead to some confusion. The rear panel of the jacket discusses the Red Badge Prize, and the foot of the spine will state Dodd, Mead & Company. 

Per my price guide, this US first printing is worth £1,000 ($1,300) in a very good jacket. Without a jacket, the book alone is worth £100 ($130). This may need updating as values might be a little higher now.

First Foreign Language Editions: The book was widely published across Europe in 1938, though the sequencing is unclear. The Italian edition was published by Mondadori’s I Libri Gialli imprint (Rome), as No. 191 in their series of book, as Carte in Tavola. The German edition was also published by Tal Verlag (Leipzig) under the title Karten auf den Tisch. The Swedish printing by Bonniers (Stockholm) was titled Korten på Bordet.

In the following year, 1939, the French edition was published by La Librairie des Champs-Élysées (Paris) under their Le Masque imprint, Paris, France, as Cartes sur Table. The Finnish edition, Kortit pöydällä, was also published this year by Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö (Helsinki).

Later UK Editions:

1937-1938: Collins reprinted this title in June & November 1937 (2nd & 3rd impressions), and January 1938 (4th impression). All had similar cover art to the first printing and were shod in orange cloth. These early reprints, if jacketed, are fairly valued at £200.

1939: The 5th impression in May 1939 was the ‘Uniform Edition’ with its simple two-colour design, green cloth and no reference to The Crime Club on the spine (image below left). This minimalistic design was suitable for the austerity of WW II. The Uniform Editions are generally not very appealing to collectors for their lack of visual appeal and so are rarely worth more than £50. A later edition published circa 1947 reverted to the original artwork for its jacket which is similarly valued but more appealing. Note how it references The Labours of Hercules on the rear panel which was published in 1947 (image below right) so again be cautious of married copies on earlier books.

Later US Editions:

1938: In the USA, the book was first reprinted by Grosset & Dunlap in circa 1938. Of note, the copyright page makes no reference to this being a reprint, consistent with Grosset’s common business practice of reusing Dodd Mead’s printing sheets without much modification. The front panel of the dust jacket used the same art but the rear panel promoted ten other Christie titles being reprinted by Grosset & Dunlap (image below left). This reprint is collectible at is fairly valued at $150.

1940s: A later Grosset & Dunlap reprint had the colour on the cloth reversed – now dominantly black with red letter and card design, and was printed on very cheap paper that browns easily. This later printing promoted their even cheaper reprint division – Madison Square Books – on the rear of the jacket (above right). This version was likely published in the early 1940s as it promoted Madison Square's reprint of Christie's Appointment with Death and is fairly valued at $50.

Paperbacks:

1937: The Albatross, Hamburg / Paris / Bologna. Series No. 176. This is the first paperback printing of Cards on the Table. It is printed in English but was sold in Continental Europe. This book is worth €75 un-jacketed, but €150 if the jacket is present. The Albatross published 14 Christie's in total - many of which are first English-language paperback editions.

1942: Mercury Mystery, L. Spivak, New York, USA. Series No. 53 (image below left). This is the first US paperback but it was slightly abridged due to war time paper rationing and the printing format of this publisher. Collectors of US printings may prefer the 1949 Dell edition (below) as it was not abridged. This book can easily be found and is worth $25.

1949: Dell Books, New York, USA. Series No. 293. This ‘Map back’ edition is the first unabridged US printing. I think these Dell printings with the maps or floor plans on the rear cover are highly appealing (image below centre - rear & front). In total, 18 Christie’s were published by Dell with map backs, five of which were reprinted with a second design. This book can be found in collector quality condition for no more than $15.

1951: Pan Books, London, UK. Series No. 176. The first UK paperback was Pan No. 176 (image below right), published in July 1951. Surprisingly the series number was the same as The Albatross printing from 1937. Values for this and future paperbacks are generally of used book value with a premium for high quality, unread copies.

Fontana Paperbacks:

1957: Fontana, London, UK. Series No. 166. The first Fontana edition but with an entirely inaccurate cover design showing a dead woman on the floor.

1968: Fontana Series No. 1729 with cover art by Ian Robertson.

1976: Fontana Series No. 4313 with cover art by Tom Adams.

1982: Fontana Series No. 6281 with cover art by Martin Baker.

Other Publications of Note:

1956: Surprise Endings, Dodd Mead & Co, NY, USA. The first Agatha Christie omnibus to contain this title (image below).

1978: Cards on the Table, A Play. Published by Samuel French. Adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon; thus not penned by Christie but of interest. As with most plays written by Christie, Poirot was also removed from this adaptation leaving Superintendent Battle as the primary detective.

Note: All the data regarding printings, editions and dates is to the best of my knowledge.  Since I have not seen every edition in person, some specifics are missing.  Those that are provided are accurate.  Any information that fills in the gaps or other updates from our readers is most welcome.  They can be sent to CollectChristie@gmail.com.

IMPORTANT NEWS re: Tickets to the 2025 International Agatha Christie Festival.

Tickets for my event are temporarily showing 'Sold Out' as negotiations are occuring with Torre Abbey Museum re: the capacity for the reception. I expect new blocks of tickets to go on sale soon so if you wanted tickets and haven't yet acquired them, check back periodically. I'll also provide an update once I learn more.

The 2025 International Agatha Christie Festival is a week long festival in Torquay, Devon that is well worth attending. I'm presenting on Thursday 18th September on the artwork of Tom Adams, creator of numerous iconic Agatha Christie book covers. The event begins with an illustrated talk I'm preparing. My talk is titled 'Tom Adams: The Art of the Artist' and in it I'll share exclusive insights into the creative genius of Tom Adams based on my research in his archives. Following my presentation, attendees are invited to the adjacent Torre Abbey Museum for a drinks reception that celebrates the launch of a new and related exhibit 'Tom Adams and Agatha Christie: Partners in Crime' where you will have exclusive access to view the exhibition before its opening to the public on Friday 19th September. More details and tickets can be found at: https://www.iacf-uk.org/festival-2025/literary/tom-adams-and-agatha-christie-partners-in-crime

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