Christie's Rare & Unique American Short Story Collections.

Many collectors of Agatha Christie’s hardback first editions often seek to build a library with a specific focus, such as British firsts. Others may focus on her true global first editions, regardless of origin, or perhaps firsts printings solely from their home country, such as American, French or Italian firsts. However, there are some books that earn a rightful place in any collection because of their uniqueness. In this article, I look at a selection of rare American short story first editions that all collectors should be aware of and are worthy for inclusion in any Agatha Christie collector’s library regardless of your national focus.

1925: Poirot Investigates. This short story collection was first published by The Bodley Head (UK) in March 1924, while the American edition was published by Dodd, Mead & Company (US) in April 1925 – just over a year later. However, this American edition is unique because it contains three additional short stories that were not included in the British edition. These ‘bonus’ Poirot stories are The Veiled Lady, The Lost Mine and The Chocolate Box.  All of these stories could have been included in the British edition as they had already been published in The Sketch in 1923. It is still unclear why there is a variance between the British and American versions of this collection.  In Britain, these three missing stories did not appear in a traditional all-Christie collection until their inclusion in Collins’ 1974 book Poirot’s Early Cases.  Consequently, this American edition from 1925 is a must-have in any first edition collection. Below is the original dust wrapper for this book which is unusual in that it has the same artwork on both the front and rear panels. Collectors should also know that this book was not reprinted by Dodd Mead nor by Grosset & Dunlap, so only first edition printings exist from this period.

Value: £1,500 ($2,000) for the book alone in Very Good condition, and up to £15,000 ($20,000) for a jacketed copy in like condition. Note that ‘Very Good’ means only light wear attributable to reading and age, and that the jacket is complete. Minor blemishes and edge wear are acceptable, but price-clipping, chipping, ink inscriptions and staining all start to reduce value significantly.

1939: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories. This book was published in June 1939 by Dodd, Mead & Company (US) and contained nine short stories.  Of these five featured Hercule Poirot (The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, How Does Your Garden Grow?, Yellow Iris, The Dream & Problem at Sea), two featured Parker Pyne (The Regatta Mystery & Problem at Pollensa Bay), and one featured Miss Marple (Miss Marple Tells a Story). The other story was In a Glass Darkly, which does not feature any typical Christie character. There was no similar collection published in Britain or elsewhere in the world. In fact, none of these stories appeared Britain in a traditional all-Christie collection until 1960 or later. Thus, this American edition is truly unique and deservedly has global appeal for collectors. Personally, I think this dust wrapper is quite beautiful and stylistic for the late 1930s.

Value: £200 ($260) for the book alone in Very Good condition, and up to £3,000 ($4,000) for a jacketed copy in like condition. Note that this book was not reprinted so only first edition printings from this period exist.

1948: The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. This collection of eleven short stories was published in September 1948 by Dodd, Mead & Company (USA). There is no similar British collection as ten of the stories had previously appeared across two British collections – The Hound of Death and Other Stories andThe Listerdale Mystery. However, the eleventh story – The Second Gong – did not appear in Britain until 1991 when it was included in Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories. Given how the title story has become one of Christie’s most famous stories, primarily due to the success of its stage and film productions, this collection is appealing to own.

Value: £150 ($200) for the book alone in Very Good condition, and up to £1,200 ($1,600) for a jacketed copy in like condition. Note that this book was not reprinted so only first edition printings from this period exist. The book itself has grey boards while the dust wrapper references Red Badge mysteries on the rear panel.

1948: The Witness for the Prosecution and Three Blind Mice. Published in December 1948 by Walter Black (US) for the Detective Book Club, not her usual publisher Dodd, Mead & Co.  This two-story collection features the first book appearance of Three Blind Mice – the novella of the radio play from which The Mousetrap play was dramatized. Given both how important this story is in the Christie canon and that it still has not been published in the UK in a book, it makes this American edition an essential book for any collector to own.

Value: In the 2024 auction of John Cooper’s books (see: link) the hammer price for a jacketed copy sold for £1,200 (£1,512) plus buyer’s premium. Thus, fair value today for a Very Good copy is  £150 ($200) for the book alone, and £1,500 ($2,000) for a jacketed copy in like condition. Note that there are no reprints in this format so only the first edition exists.

1950: Three Blind Mice and Other Stories. This collection of nine short stories was published by Dodd, Mead & Company (US) in February 1950. None of these stories had been previously published in England. While the title story was first published in the US in 1948 (see above), the remaining eight stories had not yet been published in the States. In addition to Three Blind Mice, there are three Poirot stories, four Miss Marple stories, and one Harley Quin story in the collection. While Three Blind Mice is still unpublished in Britain, the other eight don’t appear in a British Christie collection until 1960 or later. Note that the Book Club Edition of this title is common and not valuable. Almost all copies for sale will be this version. The correct first edition is in red boards, priced $2.50 on the front flap, references the newly issued Red Badge mysteries on the rear, and lists a few recent Christie titles on the fly leaf next to the title page. 

Value: A Very Good copy is  £100 ($130) for the book alone, and up to £400 ($500) for a jacketed copy in like condition.

1951: The Under Dog and Other Stories. This collection of nine Poirot short stories was published by Dodd, Mead and Company (US) in September 1951. Many appeared in The Sketch (UK) in the 1920s as part of their series The Grey Cells of M. Poirot but did not appear in an official hardback Christie collection in the UK until 1960 when The Under Dog was included in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees (Collins). The other eight did not appear in the UK until Collins published Poirot’s Early Cases in 1974. Note that reprints of this book by Walter Black are plentiful and cheap. They reference the Detective Book Club on the rear of the jacket and are printed in tan cloth. The correct first edition is in orange boards, priced $2.50 on the front flap, references the newly issued Red Badge mysteries on the rear, and lists Christie’s other titles on the fly leaf next to the title page.  

Value: A Very Good copy is  £100 ($130) for the book alone, and up to £400 ($500) for a jacketed copy in like condition.

Another Book of Note.

The following is less rare and is not a short story collection, but a reprint of a novel. However, it is worth discussing here as it is an unique American printing and worth considering for inclusion in any collection of Agatha Christie books.

1945: And Then There Were None. The book I'm recommending is the 1945 reprint version of the novel published by Grosset & Dunlap (US). It is unique because it is a hardback film tie-in edition. It is the first film tie-in hardback of a Christie novel. I don’t consider The Passing of Mr. Quinn, published circa 1928, as it was written by G. Roy McRae (believed to be a pseudonym, but not Christie’s). All the later Christie film tie-ins are paperbacks, and this is the only Christie hardback tie-in I can recall making it truly unique (hopefully someone quickly corrects me if wrong!). There is no British equivalent.

Shown above are just a couple of the numerous black and white images found in the book from the 1945 film featuring Walter Huston and Barry Fitzgerald. In the UK this film was released under the alternate title of Ten Little Indians.

Value: The book only is worth £15 ($20). For a book in ‘very good’ condition with a complete jacket, it is fairly valued at £150 ($200).

1961 – 1997: Short Story Collections: While there are a few other American collections that contain first printings of short stories, none of them are as scarce or valuable as those discussed above. These include Double Sin and Other Stories (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1961), The Golden Ball and Other Stories (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1971) and The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1997). Values: $20 - $50 in ‘very good’ jacketed condition.

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