Donald Barthelme First Editions

• Come Back, Dr. Caligari — 1964 · Little, BrownFirst printing identified by the letter 'A' on the copyright page, the Little, Brown / Atlantic Monthly Press convention of the period; dust jacket designed by Milton Glaser and priced 4.95. Barthelme's first book, a collection of short stories. True first is the 1964 Little, Brown (Atlantic Monthly Press) hardcover. UK edition Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1966. Scarce in jacket. No significant book club edition.
• Snow White — 1967 · Atheneum'First Edition' stated on the copyright page. Bound in speckled off-white cloth lettered in red and silver on the front board and in red, green, and silver on the spine, with a black topstain and red endpapers and pastedowns; the jacket was designed by Lawrence Ratzkin and the front flap should retain its printed price. Portions first appeared in The New Yorker. Barthelme's first novel. The 1967 Atheneum hardcover is the true first; the UK edition (Jonathan Cape) followed in 1968. The book-club edition is blind-stamped (a small dot or stamp) on the rear board and carries a jacket without a printed price.
• Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts — 1968 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFirst printing identified by a 'First printing, 1968' statement on the copyright page with no later-printing indicia; note that FSG at this date used no number line. Dust jacket priced 4.95. Barthelme's third book, a story collection. True first is the 1968 Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover. UK edition Jonathan Cape, 1969. None notable.
• City Life — 1970 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFirst printing identified by a 'First printing, 1970' statement on the copyright page with no later-printing indicia; FSG at this date used no number line. Dust jacket priced 5.95. Barthelme's fourth book, a story collection. True first is the 1970 Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover. UK edition Jonathan Cape, 1971. None notable.
• The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine, or The Hithering Thithering Djinn — 1971 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFirst printing by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1971, identified by a 'First printing, 1971' statement on the copyright page. An oblong illustrated children's book bound in green cloth, decorated throughout with the author's own collages assembled from nineteenth-century engravings, and issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its original printed front-flap price. True first is the 1971 Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover. Barthelme's only children's book, illustrated with the author's own collages of nineteenth-century engravings. None notable.
• Sadness — 1972 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxCopyright page states 'First printing, 1972.' Bound in publisher's purple/violet cloth-covered boards. The illustrated dust jacket has a white ground with a montage on the front (a girl in nineteenth-century dress with vases of flowers and a basket) and a black-and-white photograph of Barthelme on the rear panel; the front flap carries the printed price at the upper corner and should be unclipped on the true…. True first is the 1972 FSG hardcover. A UK edition followed from Jonathan Cape in 1974. No notable book-club issue; later FSG printings drop the 'First printing, 1972' line and add subsequent printing statements.
• Guilty Pleasures — 1974 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxThe copyright page of the true first states 'First printing, 1974.' The book is bound in bright yellow cloth and is an octavo of 165 pages. Barthelme's first book of nonfiction, it collects parody, political satire, and fables. The first-issue pictorial dust jacket is lettered in black and should retain its printed price (an unclipped jacket is preferred, but price presence rather than any amount is the point). True first is the 1974 Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover, identified by the stated 'First printing, 1974' on the copyright page. No notable book-club issue. Later printings state an additional or higher printing on the copyright page in place of 'First printing, 1974.'.
• The Dead Father — 1975 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFarrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1975; octavo, 177 pp. Copyright page states 'First printing, 1975.' Bound in full cloth with silver-gilt (silver-stamped) spine titles and top edges dyed grey. Issued in a priced dust jacket; the printed jacket price should be present on the true first (price-clipping does not by itself demote it). True first is the 1975 FSG hardcover. The UK edition followed from Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1976 and is a separate issue. No notable book-club issue; later printings drop the 'First printing, 1975' statement from the copyright page.
• Amateurs — 1976 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxCopyright page states 'First printing, 1976.' Price-intact dust jacket on the true first. Collection of short stories, many first appearing in The New Yorker. True first is the 1976 FSG hardcover. No notable book-club issue; later printings add subsequent printing statements.
• Great Days — 1979 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxCopyright page of the true first states 'First printing, 1979.' Bound in yellow cloth with red ink spine lettering, square and firmly bound, with a red top stain; 172 pages. First-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and should be present and unclipped on a collector's copy. Collection of the related short 'dialogue' pieces including 'The Crisis,' 'The Apology,' 'The New Music,'…. True first is the 1979 Farrar, Straus & Giroux hardcover, identified by the 'First printing, 1979' statement on the copyright page. No notable book-club issue. Later printings replace or supplement the 'First printing' line with additional printing statements.
• Sixty Stories — 1981 · G. P. Putnam's SonsCopyright page states 'First printing.' No number line on this title — the original record's reference to a number line was inaccurate and has been removed. Price-intact dust jacket on the true first trade issue. Career-spanning selection of stories. True first is the 1981 G. P. Putnam's Sons trade hardcover. A signed, numbered limited edition of 500 copies was also issued by Putnam in the same year and precedes/parallels the trade issue as a separate state. No notable book-club issue.
• Overnight to Many Distant Cities — 1983 · G. P. Putnam's SonsFirst trade edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a descending number line; first-issue dust jacket carries the original price. Barthelme's final mixed collection of stories and short prose pieces. True first is the 1983 Putnam edition. No widely noted book-club issue of consequence.
• Forty Stories — 1987 · G. P. Putnam's SonsFirst edition, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1987 (ISBN 0-399-13299-6), stating 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a descending number line reading down to 1. Bound in black textured paper-covered boards; the first-issue dust jacket is a white glossy wrapper and should be present and not price-clipped, carrying its printed price on the front flap. True first is the 1987 Putnam edition, identified by the stated 'First Edition' line together with the complete descending number line. No widely noted book-club issue of consequence; later printings drop the full number line down to 1.
• The King — 1990 · Harper & RowFirst edition states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1; first-issue dust jacket carries the original price. Posthumous Arthurian novel, illustrated by Barry Moser. True first is the 1990 Harper & Row edition, published posthumously (Barthelme died in 1989). No widely noted book-club issue of consequence.

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