8 August Wilson first editions are documented on this shelf, from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1985) to Radio Golf (2008) across 5 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that August Wilson title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a August Wilson copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — 1985 · PlumeFirst edition was issued by Plume (New American Library / Dutton) as a trade-paperback original in 1985; there is no trade hardcover first. The Plume title and copyright pages identify the edition, and the first printing is identified by the lowest number in the printing line with no later-printing statement. This was Wilson's first major published play and his first book. The Plume trade-paperback original is the true first edition. Wilson's early Century Cycle plays were published as paperback originals, not as trade hardcovers, so there is no precedent hardcover trade first to seek; any hardcover is a later book-club issue. No trade hardcover precedes the paperback original; a book-club hardcover, if encountered, is a later secondary issue. The first printing is identified by the full printing number line and the absence of a later-printing statement.
- Fences — 1986 · PlumeFirst edition is the Plume trade-paperback original, 1986 (New American Library / Dutton), with an introduction by Lloyd Richards. There is no trade hardcover first edition. The first printing is identified by the lowest number in the printing line and the absence of any later-printing statement. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award. The Plume wrappers original is the true first edition. A hardcover exists, but it is a Book-of-the-Month / book-club issue that followed the paperback original and is not the first edition; the paperback original has precedence. A book-club hardcover is sometimes mistaken for a 'first.' It is identified by a blind-stamp or dot on the rear board and the absence of a priced trade dust jacket, and it postdates the paperback original. The true first is the Plume wrappers with the first-printing number line.
- Joe Turner's Come and Gone — 1988 · PlumeFirst trade edition is the Plume trade-paperback original, 1988 (New American Library). The first printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1. New York Drama Critics' Circle best play, 1987-88. The Plume trade paperback is the recognized trade first edition. A New American Library hardcover also appeared in 1988, but it circulated essentially as a book-club issue rather than a trade hardback first; the Plume wrappers issue is the standard collected first. The 1988 New American Library hardcover is a book-club style issue, not a trade hardback first that precedes the paperback. Identify the Plume first printing by the complete number line ending in 1.
- The Piano Lesson — 1990 · DuttonFirst edition is the Dutton hardcover, 1990 (ISBN 0525249265), in cloth with dust jacket; the first printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1. Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A Plume trade paperback was issued alongside, and a book-club hardcover also exists. The Dutton hardcover, New York, 1990 is the true trade first edition. It precedes and outranks the simultaneous Plume paperback. Signed first-edition hardcovers have been handled by Heritage Auctions; a book-club hardcover is a separate secondary issue. Distinguish the Dutton trade hardcover first (number line ending in 1, with priced dust jacket) from the book-club hardcover, which is the secondary issue. The Plume paperback is a simultaneous but secondary trade format.
- Two Trains Running — 1992 · DuttonThe Dutton hardcover in dust jacket is the true first, not the Plume paperback. Look for the E. P. Dutton hardcover (ISBN 0-525-93565-7) with First Edition stated and/or the number line on the copyright page. Precedence in the original record was reversed. Wilson's Dutton-era plays were issued as a Dutton hardcover first, with the Plume trade paperback following, as the parallel titles demonstrate (The Piano Lesson: Dutton hardcover January 1990, Plume paperback October 1990; Seven Guitars: Dutton hardcover 1996, Plume paperback 1997). The Dutton hardcover of Two Trains Running is therefore the true first; the Plume…. The Plume trade paperback is the secondary issue, not the first. No conventional book club edition is the point of concern; identify the Dutton hardcover by its stated edition and number line.
- Seven Guitars — 1996 · DuttonCloth in dust jacket; the E. P. Dutton hardcover (ISBN 0-525-94196-7), published 1996, is the genuine trade hardcover first. Copyright page shows First Edition and/or the number line. A Plume trade paperback followed in 1997. The Dutton hardcover is the true first. The Plume paperback is a later, secondary issue (1997), so the record's core claim holds. Distinguish the first printing from later printings by the number line; the Plume paperback is the later format and not the first.
- Jitney — 2001 · Overlook PressCloth in dust jacket with printed price on the flap; Overlook Press hardcover (ISBN 1-58567-186-X), 120 pages, the first published book form of the play. Identify the first printing by the number line on the copyright page. The Overlook Press hardcover is the first book edition of the play, which was written in 1979, first produced in 1982 at Pittsburgh's Allegheny Repertory Theatre, and reached Off-Broadway in 2000 before this first print publication. Verified as an Overlook Press publication, ISBN 1585671861. No conventional book club edition is the concern. Note that a later Overlook trade printing exists under ISBN 1-58567-370-6; identify the true first by the earlier ISBN and the number line on the copyright page.
- Radio Golf — 2008 · Theatre Communications GroupTheatre Communications Group, New York, 2008, with a foreword by Suzan-Lori Parks. Issued simultaneously in a clothbound hardcover (ISBN 978-1-55936-306-8) and a trade paperback in wrappers (ISBN 978-1-55936-308-2), each running about 120 pages. The final play of August Wilson's ten-play Century Cycle; confirm the copyright-page printing line descends to the lowest numeral with no later-printing statement. US Theatre Communications Group first, 2008. The play had its Broadway premiere in 2007, but the TCG book edition was published in 2008; both the hardcover and paperback issues are of that first edition. No book club edition. A separate Samuel French acting edition exists and is not the TCG first.
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