14 Barry Lopez first editions are documented on this shelf, from Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven (1976) to Horizon (2019) across 7 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Barry Lopez 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 Barry Lopez copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven — 1976 · Sheed, Andrews and McMeelSheed, Andrews and McMeel (Kansas City) first printing; dated 1976; taupe paper-covered boards, titles stamped in dark brown on spine, 89 pages, with a priced dust jacket. No later-printing statement on the copyright page. True first US edition; Lopez's first book. First volume of the Desert Notes / River Notes pairing. No book-club concern. The later Avon paperback and the combined Desert Notes/River Notes reissue are reprints.
- Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter: Coyote Builds North America — 1977 · Sheed Andrews and McMeelFirst edition published by Sheed Andrews and McMeel (Kansas City) in 1977, ISBN 0-8362-0726-2, in a pictorial dust jacket. A collection of sixty-eight Coyote trickster tales drawn from forty-two tribes. The first-issue jacket is unclipped and carries the original printed price. True first US edition; Lopez's early retelling of Old Man Coyote tales. The Sheed Andrews and McMeel hardcover precedes the later Harper (Harper Perennial) paperback reissue. No book-club edition of note; distinguish the 1977 Sheed Andrews and McMeel hardcover from the later Harper Perennial paperback reprint.
- Of Wolves and Men — 1978 · Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons imprint with the 1978 copyright and no later-printing or additional-printing notice on the copyright page. By the late 1970s Scribner had moved to a number-line convention, so a first printing shows the printer/number-line sequence for the first state rather than any later-printing line. Dust jacket carries the printed price on the flap. Illustrated octavo. The US Scribner 1978 edition is the true first; Lopez's National Book Award-nominated study. Identify the first printing by the Scribner imprint, the 1978 copyright with no statement of a later printing, and a priced jacket. Book-club editions are smaller and lighter, typically carry a blind-stamped board, and have an unpriced jacket. The trade first is distinguished by the priced jacket and the absence of any book-club markings, not by a single letter point.
- River Notes: The Dance of Herons — 1979 · Andrews and McMeelFirst edition, first printing, Andrews and McMeel, Kansas City, 1979 (ISBN 0-8362-6106-2). Bound in light green cloth-covered boards with silver spine lettering, in the publisher's dust jacket bearing its printed price (present on unclipped copies). Companion volume to Desert Notes; contains the linked pieces including 'Dawn,' 'Drought,' and 'The Log Jam.'. True first US edition; companion to Desert Notes. No book-club edition concern of note.
- Winter Count — 1981 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst edition published by Charles Scribner's Sons (New York) in 1981. Identified by a number line on the copyright page ending in 1 (Scribner's manufacturer/binding code appears mid-line). Story collection. True first US edition (short stories). By 1981 Scribner identified firsts with a number line, not a stated edition. The prior 'Scribner A' point is an anachronism: Scribner used a capital 'A' on the copyright page only from 1930 to 1973, switching to a numeric line from 1974 onward. Do not look for an 'A' on a 1981 Scribner book; look for a number line ending in 1.
- Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape — 1986 · Charles Scribner's SonsFull number line present on the copyright page, the complete line ending in 1, under the Scribner imprint. Dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. Octavo with illustrations and maps. Winner of the 1986 National Book Award. The US Scribner 1986 edition is the true first; the UK edition followed. The complete, intact number line ending in 1 is the key point of the first printing. Book-club editions omit the full number line, are printed on lighter bulk, often carry a blind-stamped rear board, and bear an unpriced jacket. The intact number line and the priced jacket distinguish the trade first.
- Crossing Open Ground — 1988 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst edition published by Charles Scribner's Sons (New York) in 1988, ISBN 0-684-18817-1, octavo, 208 pages. Identified by a number line on the copyright page ending in 1 (no stated edition). Bound in gray quarter cloth with pale gold spine lettering over powder-blue boards. The first-issue pictorial dust jacket reproduces Alan Magee's painting 'Casting of Runes' and carries the printed price at the top of the…. True first US edition (essays); identified by the number line ending in 1, the gray quarter cloth over powder-blue boards, and the Alan Magee 'Casting of Runes' jacket art, not by a stated edition. The prior 'Scribner A' point is an anachronism: Scribner abandoned the copyright-page 'A' after 1973, using a number line from 1974 onward, so a 1988 Scribner first shows a number line ending in 1, not an 'A.' The 1989 Vintage Books trade paperback (ISBN 0-679-72183-5) and the UK Macmillan/Picador issues are separate later editions, not the Scribner cloth first.
- Crow and Weasel — 1990 · North Point PressFirst edition published by North Point Press (San Francisco) in 1990, illustrated by Tom Pohrt; ISBN 0-86547-439-0. Quarto in black cloth with gilt lettering, pictorial dust jacket by Pohrt; first printing identified by a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. True first US edition of the illustrated fable/novella. No book-club edition concern of note.
- The Rediscovery of North America — 1990 · University Press of KentuckyFirst edition published by the University Press of Kentucky in 1990, ISBN 0-8131-1742-9 (a slim volume of 64 pages, the book-length essay based on Lopez's Thomas D. Clark Lectures). Issued in cloth with a dust jacket; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the flap and is not price-clipped in first state. True first US edition of this essay; University Press of Kentucky, 1990. No book-club edition concern of note; later softcover and reprint issues follow the 1990 first.
- Field Notes: The Grace Note of the Canyon Wren — 1994 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with the Borzoi (Knopf) running-borzoi colophon; dated 1994; ISBN 0-679-43453-4 (9780679434535). A collection of twelve stories, issued in cloth-backed boards in a first-state dust jacket bearing its printed cover price to the front flap. Confirm the jacket price is present (jacket should be unclipped for a first-state copy) and the 'First Edition'…. True first US edition (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1994). Completes the loosely linked Notes trilogy following Desert Notes (1976) and River Notes (1979). No significant book-club-edition confusion for the true first; verify the Borzoi colophon and 'First Edition' statement rather than relying on the jacket alone.
- About This Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory — 1998 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, first printing, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1998; 273 pages. The copyright page states 'First Edition' with the Borzoi (Knopf) colophon; dated 1998. Eighteen essays; ISBN 0-679-43454-2. Issued in dust jacket, which should retain its printed price. True first US edition of the essay collection. No significant book-club-edition confusion for the true first.
- Light Action in the Caribbean — 2000 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst US edition, first printing, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2000; the copyright page states 'First Edition' beneath the Borzoi (Knopf) colophon, with no number line (Knopf firsts of this period are identified by the stated 'First Edition' line rather than a printer's key). A collection of stories; ISBN 0-679-43455-0. Issued in cloth-backed boards with a dust jacket bearing the printed price on the front flap. True first edition of this Barry Lopez story collection; identify it by the 'First Edition' statement and Borzoi colophon on the copyright page. No significant book-club confusion for the true first; the stated 'First Edition' line with the Borzoi device confirms the first printing.
- Resistance — 2004 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst printing states 'First Edition' with the Borzoi (Knopf) colophon on the copyright page; dated 2004; issued in dust jacket. Illustrated with monotypes by Alan Magee (nine linked fictional testimonies). True first US edition of the linked stories. No significant book-club-edition confusion for the true first.
- Horizon — 2019 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst printing of the first US edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2019, royal octavo, with deckled fore-edges. The copyright page states 'First Edition' with a full number line descending to 1. Issued in a blue-and-white pictorial dust jacket; a first-state jacket carries the printed price and should be unclipped. ISBN 978-0-394-58582-6. True first US edition; Lopez's last major book, published shortly before his death. No book-club-edition concern.
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