# Is "Augustus" by John Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Augustus by John Williams (The Viking Press, 1972) is identified by: True first is The Viking Press (New York), 1972; the copyright page reads 'First published in 1972 by The Viking Press, Inc.' with no additional-printing line or impression notice. US Viking (1972) is the true first and precedes the first UK edition, Allen Lane (London, 1973, ISBN 071390545X, Sheila Gill jacket).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is The Viking Press (New York), 1972; the copyright page reads 'First published in 1972 by The Viking Press, Inc.' with no additional-printing line or impression notice
- Bound in maroon/brick-red paper-covered boards with a green cloth spine stamped in copper (gilt), and pictorial map endpapers of the Roman Empire at the death of Augustus (A.D. 14)
- A recognized first-printing point: the rear dust-jacket panel carries a single review, by Orville Prescott; the jacket is photographic and priced at the flap
- Octavo, 305 pp
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Williams |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is The Viking Press (New York), 1972; the copyright page reads 'First published in 1972 by The Viking Press, Inc.' with no… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is The Viking Press (New York), 1972; the copyright page reads 'First published in 1972 by The Viking Press, Inc.' with no additional-printing line or impression notice. Bound in maroon/brick-red paper-covered boards with a green cloth spine stamped in copper (gilt), and pictorial map endpapers of the Roman Empire at the death of Augustus (A.D. 14). A recognized first-printing point: the rear dust-jacket panel carries a single review, by Orville Prescott; the jacket is photographic and priced at the flap. Octavo, 305 pp.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking (1972) is the true first and precedes the first UK edition, Allen Lane (London, 1973, ISBN 071390545X, Sheila Gill jacket). Augustus shared the 1973 National Book Award for Fiction with John Barth's Chimera; both US and UK issues are collected, with Viking the priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue documented in sources consulted. Reprint tell: later Viking printings state additional printings on the copyright page and the jacket carries more than the single Orville Prescott review.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Augustus* by John Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/augustus
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.