Is My An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First English-language edition, first printing: a black-cloth octavo lettered in silver, roughly 170 pages, issued in a dust jacket with the printed price present to the flap; the copyright-page number line ends in 1
• Brautigan's tenth and final novel, written in 1982 and published posthumously

How St. Martin's Press marked a first edition

• States 'First Edition' on the copyright page WITH a descending number line ending in 1 ('10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1').
• Reliable test: explicit 'First Edition' statement together with the number-line 1.

Full St. Martin's Press 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. 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.
5. 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 work first appeared not in English but in French translation, as 'Cahier d'un Retour de Troie,' published by Christian Bourgois in 1994, six years before any English-language printing. The true first in English is the 2000 St. Martin's Press edition, published in tandem with Ianthe Brautigan's memoir You Can't Catch Death.P-025736

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

None notable for the English first; be aware the 1994 French Bourgois translation is the overall first appearance of the text in print.P-025737

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey a first edition?

A first edition of An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey by Richard Brautigan (St. Martin's Press) is identified by: First English-language edition, first printing: a black-cloth octavo lettered in silver, roughly 170 pages, issued in a dust jacket with the printed price present to the flap; the copyright-page number line ends in 1.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The work first appeared not in English but in French translation, as 'Cahier d'un Retour de Troie,' published by Christian Bourgois in 1994, six years before any English-language printing.

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

None notable for the English first; be aware the 1994 French Bourgois translation is the overall first appearance of the text in print.

I have a first edition of An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey — 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.