3 Jamaica Kincaid first editions are documented on this shelf, from At the Bottom of the River (1983) to A Small Place (1988). Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Jamaica Kincaid 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 Jamaica Kincaid copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- At the Bottom of the River — 1983 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxKincaid's first book, a story collection. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1983. The true first carries the stated 'First Printing 1983' on the copyright page (verso of the title page); orange paper-covered boards quarter-bound in green cloth, with the original price-intact dust jacket. The stories first appeared in The New Yorker. US FSG 1983 is the true first; a UK Picador/Pan edition followed. A book-club edition is a separate printing lacking the 'First Printing 1983' statement, often blind-stamped with no price on the jacket.
- Annie John — 1985 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxKincaid's first novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1985. The true first has the stated 'First printing' on the copyright page (verso of the title page) with no additional printings indicated, and the original unclipped dust jacket. US FSG 1985 is the true first; a UK Picador edition followed. A book-club edition is a separate printing lacking the stated first-printing line, often blind-stamped with no price on the jacket.
- A Small Place — 1988 · Farrar, Straus and GirouxBook-length essay on Antigua. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1988. The true first has the stated 'First printing' on the copyright page; jacket design by Cynthia Krupat, with the original price-intact dust jacket. US FSG 1988 is the true first. A book-club edition is a separate printing lacking the stated first-printing line, with no price on the jacket.
More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: James Agee, James Baldwin, James Beard, James Dickey, James Fenimore Cooper, James Gould Cozzens.
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