Agatha Christie Paperback Firsts - 1970-1980

This is the fifth and final instalment on my series about collecting Agatha Christie paperback first editions. 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 the list is compiled. For complete details on these please go to Part One of this series.

Part One - the1930s (link).

Part Two - the 1940s (link).

Part Three - the 1950s (link).

Part Four – the 1960s (link).

From 1970 to 1980 nine Agatha Christie books novels were first published in the paperback format. The first printings during this period include many Fontana Continental editions, which were in English but sold primarily in Europe. However, in all cases Fontana did not provide the month of issuance, so when a different publisher issued the same title in the same year, both are provided. British Fontana printings did not acknowledge the Continental editions in their printing sequence and generally incorrectly stated 'first time in paperback' on the cover.

While the ISBN standard was in place for these books, publishers still used a series number in the 1970s. When a later printing with a different cover was published but retained the same series number, I've placed an ‘r’ in front of that number to signify reusage.

1970.

12/1970: Hallowe’en Party. Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 75636 (orange cover).

or: xx/1970: Fontana’s Continental Edition (Europe), Series No. 2370 (black cover).

First British Paperback: xx/1972: Fontana. Series No. 3005. The Tom Adams cover with the toffee apple skull is arguably one of the most creative and recognizable from the early 1970s.

1971.

xx/1971: Passenger to Frankfurt, Fontana Continental Edition. Series No. 2647.

First British paperback: Late 1972: Fontana. Series No. 3295. Cover art by Tom Adams. As with other first UK printings, Fontana states 'First time in paperback' which ignores the Continental edition. Some later printings incorrectly state it was first published in 1973.

1972.

xx/1972: Nemesis, Fontana Continental Edition. Series No. 2992. The cover harkens back to the quasi-prequel story A Caribbean Mystery.

First British paperback: 05/1974: Fontana. Series No. 3458. Tom Adams cover art.

1973.

11/1973: Elephants Can Remember, Dell Books, New York, USA. Series No. 2329.

or: xx/1973: Fontana’s Continental Edition (Europe), Series No. 3261 (black cover)

First British paperback: xx/1975: Fontana. Series No. 3930. Tom Adams cover art.

1974.

10/1974: Postern of Fate, Bantam Books, New York, USA. Series No. T8444.

or: xx/1974: Fontana’s Continental Edition (Europe), Series No. 3493 (black cover).

First British paperback: xx/1976: Fontana. Series No. 4255. Tom Adams cover.

1975.

xx/1975: Poirot’s Early Cases, Fontana Continental Edition. Series No. 3885. Stating 'Her New Bestseller' with 'Litho’d in Canada' on the rear yet it is unclear if it was sold in Canada in addition to Europe. A 2nd printing with a slightly different cover layout was published in England in 08/1977 for sale in Australia as Series No. 5061 (middle image).

First British paperback: xx/1979: Fontana. Series No. 5676. Cover by Tom Adams.

1976.

xx/1976: Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case, Pocket Books, New York, USA. Series No. 80720.

or: xx/1976: Fontana Continental Edition, Series No. 4277.  Cover has green characters for ‘Agatha Christie’ and ‘Poirot’s Last Case’, while ‘Curtain’ is in black.

First British paperback: xx/1977: Fontana. Series No. r.4277, with the same cover design as the Continental Edition. A variant first printing has purple characters for ‘Agatha Christie’ and ‘Poirot’s Last Case’. I speculate that Fontana used up the cover stock from their Continental editions first and that the less common purple cover was the original design for the British market. The January, May, and November 1980 reprints have red characters for AC & PLC. A later version, Series No 4599, swapped the colouration using red characters for 'Curtain', and the rest in black.

1977.

08/1977: Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple’s Last Case, Bantam Books, New York, USA. Series No. 10706. Uniquely published with a full page colour illustration. Later editions used the Adams artwork found on the Continental and British editions.

or: xx/1977: Fontana Continental Edition. Series No. 4590, withTom Adams artwork.

First British paperback: Early 1978. Fontana. Series No. r.4590. Retained the Adams cover.

1980.

xx/1980: Miss Marple’s Final Cases, Fontana Continental Edition. Series No. 5960. The is the last cover by Tom Adams for Fontana and it was not used by Fontana when they released the title in Britain. This is unquestionably the rarest Tom Adams paperback cover to acquire. Of note, there is no American paperback of this collection as it was not issued in the States.

First British paperback:  xx/1980. Fontana. Series No. 6207.  

Values:

All but one of the printings discussed above are valued at £15 ($20) or less for a ‘Very Good’ copy though well read or flawed copies will be far cheaper. The Continental Edition of Miss Marples Final Cases is the most valuable of these books. Very good copies lacking damage (creases, tears, etc..) have regularly sold for £75 plus. However, vigilant collectors may be able to find on in Europe (where they were sold) for regular used book prices if you look hard enough.

When sourcing any of these titles, be conscious that most were reprinted numerous times. If only a reading copy is sought, then don’t be concerned about the specific issue. However, if a collection is being assembled, then take the time to find the correct first version of the title. If in doubt about the printing you are buying, ask for an image of the copyright page to be certain it is the correct state.

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