The Case of the Worried Waitress — Gardner, Morrow 1966

Case of the Worried Waitress by Erle Stanley Gardner — the final Perry Mason mystery, published by William Morrow in 1966. This is a book club printing in the original dust jacket, priced for vintage mystery collectors.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Erle Stanley Gardner (1889–1970)
• Publisher: William Morrow and Company, New York
• Year: 1966 (book club printing)
• Format: Hardcover in dust jacket
• Pages: 182 | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era)
• Condition: Book: VG-/VG // Jacket: G+/VG- — full report below

THE STORY

The 85th and final Perry Mason novel. When a young waitress finds herself accused of murder, Perry Mason takes on one last case to clear her name. Gardner, who created the character in 1933 and wrote 82 Perry Mason novels over three decades, brought the series to a close with this courtroom drama. The Perry Mason character became a cultural icon through the long-running CBS television series starring Raymond Burr (1957–1966), which ran concurrently with the final novels.

THIS EDITION

William Morrow was Gardner’s primary U.S. publisher for the Perry Mason series. This book club printing lacks a price on the dust jacket flap, a standard indicator of book club editions from this era. The dust jacket design uses a striking black background with bold red title lettering and a black-and-white photograph of a worried-looking waitress — a visual nod to the novel’s title character.

COVER ART / DESIGN

The dust jacket features a high-contrast black-and-white photograph of a young woman in a white headband, looking directly at the viewer with a concerned expression — the “worried waitress” of the title. Bold red sans-serif lettering for the title and author name against a solid black background gives this a classic mid-century mystery look. The back panel shows an author portrait of Gardner. The spine displays “MORROW” at the foot, with the title and author in red text.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The final Perry Mason novel — marks the end of one of the longest-running mystery series in American fiction
• Gardner wrote over 80 Perry Mason novels and more than 150 works total, creating one of the most recognizable fictional lawyers in literature
• The Perry Mason television series (1957–1966) is among the most influential legal dramas ever produced, running for nine seasons on CBS

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? A 1966 book club printing published by William Morrow and Company, with the original dust jacket.

What condition is it in? Book is Very Good- to Very Good; jacket is Good+ to Very Good-. Full condition report below.

Is the dust jacket included? Yes — the jacket is present, unclipped, with minimal edge wear and some foxing. A 1/2″ closed tear with small triangular loss on the back upper edge.

FOR COLLECTORS

The final Perry Mason novel has enduring appeal for both mystery collectors and Gardner completists. While not a first edition, this book club printing with its original dust jacket is a solid reading copy and shelf presence. The jacket design — with its stark black background and red lettering — is one of the more visually distinctive entries in the Perry Mason series.

Book Details

Author: Erle Stanley Gardner

Illustrator: Not stated

Publisher: William Morrow and Company

Binding: Hardcover

Edition Points: 1966 copyright, apparently a book club printing as no price present inside the flap.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Book: Very Good- (VG-)/Very Good (VG) // Jacket: Good+ (G+)/Very Good- (VG-)

Cover & Spine: Light tan boards are uniform in color all around, some surface spotting in places, apparently from foxing on inside of the jacket, otherwise quite bright and free from shelving wear. The spine head and tail edges are bumped. Titling all around is bright and crisp.

Dust Jacket: Present. Shows some minimal edge wear, most present on back upper edge where there is a 1/2″ closed tear with a small triangular loss. Some foxing sprinkled all around; some light surface rubbing visible in black background of front cover. Unclipped.

Text Block & Pages: A fair amount of foxing on text block edges, most so on the top edge. Internally the pages are bright, perhaps a hint of some foxing, but not much. No writing, no loose, torn or folded pages.

Binding: Square and tight, with crisp, strong hinges.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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