# Is "American Earth" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of American Earth by Erskine Caldwell (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931) is identified by: First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931, carrying the Scribner's 'A' with the publisher's seal on the copyright page that denotes a first printing in this era. US first edition, Scribner's, 1931.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931, carrying the Scribner's 'A' with the publisher's seal on the copyright page that denotes a first printing in this era
- Tan cloth lettered and decorated in green; illustrated dust jacket
- Caldwell's first commercially published book and first major story collection (twenty-four stories), edited at Scribner's under Maxwell Perkins
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931, carrying the Scribner's 'A' with the publisher's seal on the copyright page that… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1931, carrying the Scribner's 'A' with the publisher's seal on the copyright page that denotes a first printing in this era. Tan cloth lettered and decorated in green; illustrated dust jacket. Caldwell's first commercially published book and first major story collection (twenty-four stories), edited at Scribner's under Maxwell Perkins.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition, Scribner's, 1931. First UK edition: Martin Secker, London, 1935, retaining the title American Earth.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Scribner printings lack the 'A' and seal. Note: 'A Swell-Looking Girl' was a later US paperback retitling (Fawcett Gold Medal / MacFadden-Bartell), not the UK first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *American Earth* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/american-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.