Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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First UK edition: Hamish Hamilton, London, 1939. BNB earliest (Pan 1950) is a paperback reprint whose own note gives Hamilton 1939. Ours (Hamish Hamilton 1969) is a reissue. US edition (Harper 1939) titled The Problem of the Green Capsule.
Read the full guide to Hamish Hamilton first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
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Hamish Hamilton, London, in 1939, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
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