Ishmael Reed First Editions

• The Free-Lance Pallbearers — 1967 · Doubleday'First Edition' is stated on the copyright page. The book collates to 155 pages and is bound in black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and red endpapers. The illustrated first-issue dust jacket was designed by Bob Sullivan and carries the printed price on the flap; the price should be present on a true first-state jacket, though flap-clipping is common. Reed's first novel. The true first is the 1967 Doubleday hardcover (Garden City, New York), Reed's debut novel. The UK edition (MacGibbon & Kee) followed in 1968 and does not precede the US issue. Doubleday book-club issues of the period carry a blind-stamp (small square or dot) to the lower rear board and lack the printed jacket price; the stated 'First Edition' priced Doubleday trade issue is the true first.
• Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down — 1969 · DoubledayFirst edition, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1969, with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page. Reed's second novel, following The Freelance Pallbearers. Bound in beige cloth boards with a yellow cloth spine lettered in red. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap (not clipped); a price present on the flap is one confirmation of the trade first. True first is the 1969 Doubleday hardcover. A simultaneous Doubleday softcover issue also appeared; the clothbound trade first with 'First Edition' on the copyright page and a priced jacket is the collected form. Doubleday book-club issues of the period carry a blind-stamp to the rear board and lack a printed jacket price; not the true first.
• Conjure: Selected Poems, 1963-1970 — 1972 · University of Massachusetts PressFirst printing, 1972, Reed's first collection of poetry, collating xii, 83 pages. Issued simultaneously in cloth and in illustrated wrappers: the hardcover is bound in red slick cloth-covered boards lettered in white, and the wrappers issue is printed in color. The hardcover issue is the scarcer of the two. The true first is the 1972 University of Massachusetts Press edition (Amherst), in both the cloth and the wrappers issues; there is no earlier printing. None notable; the red cloth with white lettering (hardcover) or color-illustrated wrappers identify the 1972 first printing.
• Mumbo Jumbo — 1972 · Doubleday1972 Doubleday first edition, octavo, 223 pages, illustrated. Bound in black cloth stamped in silver on the spine. The pictorial dust jacket, designed by Ishmael Reed and Allen Weinberg, features a photograph of Josephine Baker chosen by Reed, and the first-issue jacket should retain its original printed price on the flap. An unusual design point: the opening chapters are interrupted by copyright and title pages,…. True first is the 1972 Doubleday hardcover; the novel was a 1973 National Book Award finalist in fiction. A Bantam paperback followed in 1973. Doubleday book-club issues of the period carry a blind-stamp to the rear board and lack a jacket price; not the true first.
• Chattanooga: Poems — 1973 · Random House'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with a number line ending in '2' (Random House practice of 1970-2002; a line ending in '1' indicates a LATER printing). Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wraps; priced. True first is the 1973 Random House edition, issued in both cloth and wrappers. None notable.
• The Last Days of Louisiana Red — 1974 · Random HouseRandom House New York, 1974, first printing. Quarter red cloth over red paper boards, gold spine lettering, red topstain; priced dust jacket. Random House of this period states First Edition on the copyright page with the number line retaining the lowest figure on the first printing. True first is the 1974 Random House hardcover; novel continuing the Papa LaBas story from Mumbo Jumbo. Book club editions are smaller, lack the priced jacket flap, and typically show a blind-stamp on the rear board.
• Flight to Canada — 1976 · Random HouseRandom House, New York, 1976, first printing. Quarter-bound: cloth spine over paper-covered boards. The copyright page states 'First Edition' with the lowest figure of the number line retained on the first printing. Dust jacket designed by Mike Stromberg; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap. Collation runs to 179 pages. True first is the 1976 Random House hardcover. Book club editions lack the printed-price jacket and usually carry a rear-board blind-stamp.
• A Secretary to the Spirits — 1978 · NOK PublishersNOK Publishers, New York, 1978, first edition. A collection of poems illustrated throughout with mixed-media collage graphics that Betye Saar was commissioned to create for the book (begun in 1975). Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers with no established priority; the cloth issue is bound in black composite boards lettered in gilt to the cover and spine. A scarce and elusive title in Reed's canon. True first is the 1978 NOK Publishers edition; the cloth issue and the wrappers issue are both first-edition states with no established priority. No book club edition. Note that the book exists in two simultaneous binding states (cloth and wrappers).
• Shrovetide in Old New Orleans — 1978 · DoubledayDoubleday, Garden City, 1978, first printing with "First Edition" stated on the copyright page and no later-printing statement (ISBN 0-385-05688-5). Reed's first collection of essays, running about 292 pages; the priced dust jacket flap should be present. True first is the 1978 Doubleday hardcover; first collection of Reed's essays. None notable; Doubleday firsts of this period are identified by the stated "First Edition" rather than a number line.
• God Made Alaska for the Indians — 1982 · Garland PublishingGarland Publishing, New York, 1982, first edition. Selected essays. Issued as a scholarly hardcover in publisher's cloth; copies are generally found without a dust jacket. There is no number line to confirm printing, so identify by the 1982 Garland imprint on the title and copyright pages. True first is the 1982 Garland Publishing edition; a collection of selected essays. None notable. An advance/review state exists in unbound signatures.
• The Terrible Twos — 1982 · St. Martin's Press / MarekSt. Martin's / Marek, New York, 1982, first printing. Octavo hardcover of 178 pages with a stated first edition on the copyright page and the publisher's number line retaining the lowest figure on the first printing. The first-issue dust jacket, designed by Andy Carpenter, should retain its printed price on the front flap. True first is the 1982 St. Martin's/Marek hardcover (ISBN 0312791992 / 9780312791995). None notable.
• Reckless Eyeballing — 1986 · St. Martin's PressFirst edition, first printing, stated, with the number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth-covered boards with the spine title stamped in bright gilt; octavo, 148 pages. Issued in the original pictorial dust jacket, which should retain its printed price (present, not clipped) on the front flap. True first is the 1986 St. Martin's Press (New York) hardcover. None notable.
• Writin' Is Fightin': Thirty-Three Years of Boxing on Paper — 1988 · AtheneumFirst edition so stated with the printer's number line; issued simultaneously in cloth (in a priced dust jacket; hardcover ISBN 0689119755 / 9780689119750) and in a wrappered trade issue (ISBN 0689707347 / 9780689707346). A collection of Reed's essays, reviews, and editorials. True first is the 1988 Atheneum (New York) edition. Note the correct subtitle is 'Thirty-Seven Years of Boxing on Paper,' not 'Thirty-Three Years'; the title as given is incorrect. A revised, expanded edition appeared from Addison-Wesley in 1998 as 'Writin' Is Fightin': Forty-Three Years of Boxing on Paper.'. No book club edition noted. The Addison-Wesley 1998 revised/expanded edition (updated subtitle 'Forty-Three Years') is a distinct later state, not the true first.
• The Terrible Threes — 1989 · AtheneumFirst edition so stated on the copyright page with the number line descending to 1 (ISBN 0-689-11893-7), about 180 pages; the clothbound trade issue carries a priced dust jacket. Sequel to 'The Terrible Twos.' A wrappered (softcover) issue followed in 1990. True first is the 1989 Atheneum (New York) clothbound edition. None notable.
• Japanese by Spring — 1993 · AtheneumFirst edition so stated with number line descending to 1; dust jacket priced. Hardcover (ISBN 0689120729). True first is the 1993 Atheneum (New York) hardcover. The Penguin paperback is a later reprint. None notable.

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