Is My A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing has "FIRST EDITION" stated on the copyright page, positioned below the publisher's code "8-43" and above the code "D-S"; both codes must be present, and later Harper printings carry different code pairs
• Bound in green cloth with a printed paper title label affixed to the spine; octavo (21cm), collating [iv],[2],3-443,[1] pages
• The first-state pictorial jacket is a priced jacket, with the price present at the upper corner of the front flap and the figure "5338" printed at the foot of that flap
• The 1943 date alone does not establish a first printing: the book went back to press before its official August 1943 publication date, so the copyright-page codes are the decisive check
• Referenced as Bruccoli & Clark III:296 and NYPL Books of the Century 207

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• From 1922: also began printing 'First Edition' on the copyright page in addition to the code.

Full Harper & Brothers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US Harper & Brothers 1943 edition is the true first and the edition collected; this is confirmed across a bibliography-citing ABAA dealer (Bauman), a copy-in-hand ABAA description (Lorne Bair), and fedpo. Smith wrote in English and was published in the US first, so no original-language precedence question arises. CORRECTION TO CENSUS: the claimed Heinemann (London) 1944 first UK edition could NOT be corroborated — no dealer catalogue, bibliography, or auction record consulted described it, and a targeted search returned only a 1944 Canadian issue from The Musson Book Company (Toronto). Treat the Heinemann attribution as unverified pending a British Library or Heinemann-bibliography check, and do not publish it as fact.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Blakiston Company (Philadelphia) issued the reprint/book-club edition "by special arrangement with Harper & Brothers" — the Blakiston imprint on the title page is an immediate disqualifier. Blakiston copies are bound in textured green covers with gilt spine lettering, rather than the Harper first's green cloth with a printed paper spine label, and the jacket states "Book Club Edition" at the foot of the front flap. Bauman catalogues a first-edition copy housed alongside a separate book-club jacket, confirming the two jackets are distinct objects.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a first edition?

A first edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: The first printing has "FIRST EDITION" stated on the copyright page, positioned below the publisher's code "8-43" and above the code "D-S"; both codes must be present, and later Harper printings carry different code pairs.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The US Harper & Brothers 1943 edition is the true first and the edition collected; this is confirmed across a bibliography-citing ABAA dealer (Bauman), a copy-in-hand ABAA description (Lorne Bair), and fedpo.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The Blakiston Company (Philadelphia) issued the reprint/book-club edition "by special arrangement with Harper & Brothers" — the Blakiston imprint on the title page is an immediate disqualifier. Blakiston copies are bound in textured green covers with gilt spine lettering, rather than the Harper first's green cloth with a printed paper spine label, and the jacket states "Book Club Edition" at the foot of the front flap. Bauman catalogues a first-edition copy housed alongside a separate book-club

I have a first edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.