# Is "Audrey Rose" by Frank De Felitta a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Audrey Rose by Frank De Felitta (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975) is identified by: Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975. US first: G.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975
- Putnam used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1975: the first printing is identified by the 1975 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page — later printings insert 'Second Impression' and so on, and dealers do offer later Putnam printings of this title (Books on the Boulevard catalogues a 'Second Edition')
- Two independent publisher guides document the practice — Books Tell You Why and Quill & Brush / qbbooks — and Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s
- Binding: publisher's purple (plum) cloth spine over orange paper-covered boards, spine titled in gilt, with a blind-embossed tombstone angel on the front board and orange endpapers
- 374 pp., octavo
- Jacket should be present and unclipped with the price present at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Frank De Felitta |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975. Putnam used no first-edition statement and no number line in 1975: the first printing is identified by the 1975 date together with the ABSENCE of any impression line on the copyright page — later printings insert 'Second Impression' and so on, and dealers do offer later Putnam printings of this title (Books on the Boulevard catalogues a 'Second Edition'). Two independent publisher guides document the practice — Books Tell You Why and Quill & Brush / qbbooks — and Putnam did not adopt a number row until the mid-to-late 1980s. Binding: publisher's purple (plum) cloth spine over orange paper-covered boards, spine titled in gilt, with a blind-embossed tombstone angel on the front board and orange endpapers; 374 pp., octavo. Jacket should be present and unclipped with the price present at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US first: G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975 — the census claim is confirmed by Lorne Bair Rare Books and Rare Book Cellar independently, among others. De Felitta wrote in English and Putnam's is the originating imprint, so there is no original-language question; no UK hardcover preceding or contemporaneous with the Putnam issue was found in the records consulted. The 1977 film (Anthony Hopkins) generates tie-in reprints — any 'now a major motion picture' jacket, and any paperback, is later than the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies dated 1975 under the Putnam imprint are common and are the principal trap; dealers routinely list 'First Book Club Edition' copies (Bookshop Apocalypse, Postmarked from the Stars, and Etsy/eBay listings among them). Because the Putnam first carries no printing statement, the discriminators are physical: club jackets carry no price at the front flap, club copies carry the standard blind-stamped impression on the lower rear board and are lighter and slightly smaller in trim, and the club binding is described in a red leatherette-textured board rather than the trade issue's purple cloth spine over orange paper boards. Note the blind-embossed tombstone angel is a feature of the TRADE binding — it is not a club tell, despite some listings conflating the two.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Audrey Rose* by Frank De Felitta a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/audrey-rose
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.