# Is "A Gift from Earth" by Larry Niven a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Gift from Earth by Larry Niven (Ballantine, 1968) is identified by: Ballantine Books paperback original, catalog number 72113, September 1968, in pictorial wraps. US Ballantine paperback original is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ballantine Books paperback original, catalog number 72113, September 1968, in pictorial wraps
- The copyright page of the first printing carries the September 1968 date and states in effect that this is an original publication and not a reprint, with no notation of a later printing
- Being a paperback original, first-state identification rests on the 72113 catalog number and the original printed cover price rather than on a printer's number line
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Larry Niven |
| Publisher | Ballantine |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Ballantine Books paperback original, catalog number 72113, September 1968, in pictorial wraps |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Ballantine Books paperback original, catalog number 72113, September 1968, in pictorial wraps. The copyright page of the first printing carries the September 1968 date and states in effect that this is an original publication and not a reprint, with no notation of a later printing. Being a paperback original, first-state identification rests on the 72113 catalog number and the original printed cover price rather than on a printer's number line.

## Is this the true first?
US Ballantine paperback original is the true first. The text was serialized earlier as 'Slowboat Cargo' in Worlds of If (February through April 1968) before the September 1968 book; the first hardcover was Macdonald, London, 1969.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Gift from Earth* by Larry Niven a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-gift-from-earth
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.