Is My Alexander's Bridge a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York, April 1912
• Cather's first novel, ~175pp
• Bound in purple/plum cloth with titles stamped in gilt to front board and spine
• Reference: Crane A5.a.i
• Two states are recognized: dealers describe the common copies as the 'usual second issue with the title page preceding the half-title page,' implying a scarcer earlier state with the half-title placement reversed — verify leaf order
• Two dust-jacket variants also exist: an earlier typographic jacket (Crane 'A') and a slightly later pictorial jacket (Crane 'B') bearing F. Graham Cootes's illustration of a man and woman dining, with a 'New Fiction' list to the rear panel

How Houghton Mifflin Company marked a first edition

• Merger-lineage window (Hurd & Houghton 1864 → Houghton, Osgood & Co. 1878–1880 → Houghton, Mifflin & Co. from 1880): still no 'First Edition' wording; identify by title-page date matching the copyright date, by the earli…
• Late-19th to mid-20th century (c.1880s–1950s): the operative tell is the title page. Houghton Mifflin almost invariably printed the year of first publication, in Arabic numerals, on the title page of a first printing and…

Full Houghton Mifflin Company 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?

US Houghton Mifflin (April 1912) is the true first and precedes the first English edition, William Heinemann, London (August 1912) — a genuine TITLE-VARIANT TRAP: Heinemann published it retitled 'Alexander's Bridges' (plural), brown cloth with green spine and gilt spine lettering, with four F. Graham Cootes plates. The novel had first appeared serially as 'Alexander's Masquerade' in McClure's Magazine; both the singular US 'Bridge' and the plural UK 'Bridges' book titles are collected, with the US the primary first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No relevant early book-club issue; the 1922 Houghton Mifflin reissue adds Cather's new preface and is a 'first thus,' not the first edition. Modern reprints are clearly later.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Alexander's Bridge a first edition?

A first edition of Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather (Houghton Mifflin Company) is identified by: First edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York, April 1912; Cather's first novel, ~175pp.

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. US Houghton Mifflin (April 1912) is the true first and precedes the first English edition, William Heinemann, London (August 1912) — a genuine TITLE-VARIANT TRAP: Heinemann published it retitled 'Alexander's Bridges' (plural), brown cloth with green spine and gilt spine lettering, with four F.

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

No relevant early book-club issue; the 1922 Houghton Mifflin reissue adds Cather's new preface and is a 'first thus,' not the first edition. Modern reprints are clearly later.

I have a first edition of Alexander's Bridge — 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.