Patricia Highsmith First Editions, Part 1

UPDATE, October 2013: I've since put together an Existential Ennui permanent page, the Patricia Highsmith First Edition Book Cover Gallery, drawing solely on the books in my own collection.

I mentioned I might do this, and unlike all the other times I mentioned I might post something and then never did, this time I'm actually doing it. Yippee. Here, then, are as many as I could muster of the first edition hardback covers – both US and UK – for all twenty-one of Patricia Highsmith's novels (excluding The Price of Salt, a.k.a. Carol, the novel she wrote as Claire Morgan). There are some gaps, so if anyone can help fill those in (if anyone even reads this...), let me know. I've bunged in a few paperback covers too, just 'cos I have them. Hopefully this'll be a useful resource for anyone looking into Highsmith firsts, but even if not, it's the kind of pointlessly nerdy thing that keeps me happy. (You'll be able to tell the books I own, as I've photographed – usually quite badly – the full opened-out dustjackets.) I'm splitting it into two parts (Part 2 directly above this post), otherwise this post would be huuuuge; plus, images are a pain in the arse to move about in Blogger. Enjoy!

1) Strangers on a Train
Top left: Harper & Brothers, US, 1950; top right: Cresset Press, UK, 1951; beneath: Corgi paperback, UK, 1952

2) The Blunderer
Top left: Coward-McCann, US, 1954; top right: Cresset, UK, 1956; beneath: Pan paperback, UK, 1958

3) The Talented Mr. Ripley
Top left: Coward-McCann, US, 1955; top right: Cresset, UK, 1957; beneath: Pan paperback, UK, 1960 (David Tayler cover art)















4) Deep Water
Left: Harper & Brothers, US, 1957; right: Pan paperback, UK, 1961 (Heinemann, UK, 1958 unavailable)

5) A Game for the Living
Top left: Harper & Brothers, US, 1958; top right: Heinemann, UK, 1959; beneath: Pan paperback, UK, 1962 (Sam Peffer cover art)















6) This Sweet Sickness
Harper & Brothers, US, 1960 (Heinemann, UK, 1961 unavailable)

7) The Cry of the Owl
Top left: Harper & Row, US, 1962; top right and beneath: Heinemann, UK, 1963 (John Bance dustjacket)

8) The Two Faces of January
Top left: Doubleday, US, 1964; top right and beneath: Heinemann, UK, 1964 (John Bance dustjacket)

9) The Glass Cell
Top left: Garden City/Doubleday, US, 1964; top right and beneath: Heinemann, UK, 1965 (M. Mohan dustjacket)

10) A Suspension of Mercy
Heinemann, UK, 1965 (Tom Simmonds dustjacket) (The Story-Teller – the book's American title – Garden City/Doubleday, US, 1965 unavailable)

11) Those Who Walk Away
Heinemann, UK, 1967 (Doubleday, US, 1967 unavailable)