# Is "A High Wind in Jamaica" by Richard Hughes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes (Harper & Brothers, 1929) is identified by: The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page. Classic title-change trap: the US Harper 'The Innocent Voyage' (New York, March 1929) is the world first and precedes the UK Chatto & Windus 'A High Wind in Jamaica' (London, September 1929).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page
- Binding is quarter navy-blue cloth stamped in gilt over orange-and-blue patterned paper-covered boards, with patterned endpapers
- It appeared 13 March 1929, ahead of the London Chatto & Windus edition (September 1929) that introduced the now-familiar title; do NOT mistake the 1944 Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press printing illustrated by Lynd Ward for the first
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Hughes |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1929 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is the US Harper & Brothers (New York) edition of 1929, published under the ORIGINAL title 'The Innocent Voyage,' with a 'First Edition' statement on the copyright page. Binding is quarter navy-blue cloth stamped in gilt over orange-and-blue patterned paper-covered boards, with patterned endpapers. It appeared 13 March 1929, ahead of the London Chatto & Windus edition (September 1929) that introduced the now-familiar title; do NOT mistake the 1944 Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press printing illustrated by Lynd Ward for the first.

## Is this the true first?
Classic title-change trap: the US Harper 'The Innocent Voyage' (New York, March 1929) is the world first and precedes the UK Chatto & Windus 'A High Wind in Jamaica' (London, September 1929). Both titles are collected; Chatto also issued a signed limited edition of 150 numbered copies in quarter buckram with hand-blocked paper boards, top edge gilt, uncut. The UK trade edition under the 'A High Wind in Jamaica' title is a 'first thus,' not the world first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later American printings and the 1944 Lynd Ward-illustrated Limited Editions Club / Heritage Press edition are not the first; the 1929 Harper first is identified by the 'First Edition' statement and the quarter blue-cloth / patterned-board binding. Reprints generally carry the retitled 'A High Wind in Jamaica' and lack the Harper first-edition statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A High Wind in Jamaica* by Richard Hughes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-high-wind-in-jamaica
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.