Agatha Christie Paperback Firsts - 1950s

In creating this collectors guide, I had to consider a variety of variables which led me to establish the structure and ground rules for how these lists are compiled. For complete details on these please go to Part One in this series (linked below). This is part three in the series, with three more yet to come - the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and beyond.

Prior instalments are:

1930s Paperback Firsts: click here.

1940s Paperback Firsts: click here.

There are many reasons collecting Agatha Christie paperback first editions is appealing. Not only are they a more affordable and attainable endeavour than seeking to collect all her first hardback editions in dust wrappers, but for many fans some will be the editions you actually read. From a price perspective, beyond the 1930s and 1940s, it is uncommon to ever need to spend over £100 ($135) to secure a specific printing. Most from the 1950s onwards can generally be bought for £15 ($20) or less for copies that are in 'very good' or better collector quality condition.

The 1950s.

During the 1950s, 14 Agatha Christie books (novels and short story collections) were published as paperbacks for the first time. They are all detailed below. For each book I show the true global first paperback, which for this decade were all from North America. For each title I also show the first British paperback. Collectors should note that in the 1950s, Pocket Books (USA) was the first to publish many of Christie’s novels as paperbacks, including under its imprint Cardinal Books. Pocket Books often provides a first printed date that is up to 3 months earlier than its stated first Pocket Book or Cardinal printing dates. The only logical interpretation of this is perhaps they noted the date the book was actually produced in addition to when it was first released for sale. Any reader who has better insight, do let me know. Below I use the earlier 'First Printed' date for these books.

1950.

xx/1950: Crooked House, Collins White Circle, Canada. Series No. 478.

First British paperback: 05/1953: Penguin Books, London, UK. Series No. 925.

1951.

xx/1951: The Labours of Hercules, Dell Books, New York, USA. A ‘Map-Back’, Series No. 491.

First British paperback: 05/1953: Penguin Books, London, UK. Series No. 928.

CC: The Dell map-backs are highly collectible and appealing, especially for Agatha Christie collectors. While most are not first paperback printings, they are worthy of a place in any collection. To see images of all of them, go to this link.

xx/1951: A Murder is Announced, Collins White Circle, Canada. Series No. 523.

First British paperback: xx/1953: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 7.

Of note here is the cover art for these two editions. John Rose, who created the art for the Fontana printing, likely also created the art for the Canadian true first given the similarity between the women.

1952.

xx/1952: They Came to Baghdad, Collins White Circle, Canada. Series No. 541X.

First British paperback: xx/1954: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 15.

1953.

7/1953: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 956.

First British paperback: 1/1955: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 41.

1954.

4/1954: Funerals are Fatal (US title), Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1003.

First British paperback: After the Funeral, 5/1956: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 110.

CC: Of note, we start to see the 'pulpy-ness' of the 1950s American covers creep in here.

8/1954: Murder with Mirrors (US title), Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1021.

First British paperback: They Do It with Mirrors, 10/1955: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 80.

11/1954: A Pocket Full of Rye, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1036.

First British paperback: 1/1958: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 216.

CC: The pulpy-ness of both the American and British covers here illustrates how Christie's books were marketed in many parts of the world in the 1950s.

1955.

No First Paperbacks.

1956.

6/1956: So Many Steps to Death (US title), Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1114.

First British paperback: Destination Unknown, 3/1958: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 228.

CC: The American cover uniquely integrated a photograph of an actor into the design - an artistic design that would be revisited rather excessively on Dead Man's Folly in 1957.

9/1956: Hickory Dickory Death (US title), Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1151.

First British paperback: Hickory Dickory Dock, 5/1958: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 237.

xx/1956: The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories, Dell Publishing Company, New York, USA [n.d]. Series No. 855. Also contains the following short stories: Accident, The Fourth Man, The Mystery of the Blue Jar, Philomel Cottage, The Red Signal, The Second Gong, S.O.S., Where There's a Will.

First British Paperback: There is no British equivalent though Fontana did publish the play script as a standalone paperback in 1958.

CC: This Dell book contains the short story not the play script yet references its success as a ‘Smash Broadway Play’. This implies it was likely first printed prior to June 30, 1956 when its two year run ended. It is significantly harder to find in collector quality condition than the later 1950s Dell printing after the film was made whose blue cover featured Marlene Dietrich.

1957.

9/1957: Dead Man’s Folly, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 1174. Of note, the cover of this printing could be considered experimental for the era with its staged photograph.

First British paperback: 8/1960: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 440.

CC: For me, this American book's cover is almost comical. I assume someone at Pocket Books read part of the story and advised the art department it's was about a murder mystery game as the cover exudes Cluedo with Miss Scarlett and the revolver in the living room!

1958.

10/1958: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw (US title), Cardinal Edition, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. C-318.

First British paperback: 4:50 From Paddington, 7/1960: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 434.

1959.

12/1959: Ordeal by Innocence, Cardinal Edition, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. C-386.

First British paperback: 1961: Fontana Books, London, UK. Series No. 574.

CC: The newspapers on the rear of the American edition are a nice touch.

Values.

Canadian Collins White Circle paperbacks: These books offer tremendous value at this time. If you are fortunate, you may find printings for £20 ($30 CDN) in very good condition making them appealing and good candidates for appreciation. However, finding them for sale is another matter as they are surprisingly scarce and estimated to number only in the 100s for remaining copies of true first printings.

British Penguin paperbacks: These books are more affordable. Post-war printings will often be closer to £20 - £30 for very good copies. Note: none of them discussed above have a dust wrapper.

British Fontana paperbacks: These books can generally be found for £15 ($20) or less in collector quality condition. However, most copies for sale are flawed and well read. Be patient and seek 'very good' or better examples.

American printings: Those discussed above are all valued at £15 ($20) or less even in very good condition and so still offer good value for money.

As with all book purchases, since there are many reprints of these titles be cautious if the listing is not complete. Always ask for images of the copyright page, as well as the rear covers to be certain what you are buying.

Corrections & Input.

I always welcome corrections, updates or edits. If you think anything should be changed in this article please email me at: collectchristie@gmail.com .

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