This detail page shows several photos of the book to show what a first edition looks like.  The images are original photos taken of my personal copy of the first edition book. 

Three for the Chair (1957):

• The dustjacket has some unique features:
• The front flap has the price ($2.95) at the top and the colophon and "The Viking Press New York" at the bottom. 
• The back flap has three lines about Viking Press above "Printed in USA", while the book club edition is mostly blank.
• The copyright page has the colophon, the Library of Congress catalog number and "Printed in the USA by Colonial Press Inc" on it. 
• The first edition book cover is yellow cloth with a blue tic-tac-toe grid, with blue O's and black X's, and "A Nero Wolfe Threesome" in black on it, with the black lettering also on the spine, while the book club edition is blue.
• I have included an animated GIF file that compares many of the relevant points for a clearer understanding.
• The first edition measures .85" x 5.6" x 8.25"
• The book club edition measures .8" x 5.8" x 8.55"
• I also have a video on our YouTube channel you can watch here