James Gould Cozzens First Editions

• Confusion — 1924 · B. J. Brimmer CompanyFirst edition, his scarce debut novel, written while a Harvard undergraduate. Issued in publisher's green cloth with the top edge stained red; no later-printing statement. US first edition published in Boston by the B. J. Brimmer Company in 1924 (the short-lived house associated with William Stanley Braithwaite). No UK edition of note. Genuinely scarce. No book club edition and no contemporary reprints of note.
• Michael Scarlett — 1925 · Albert & Charles BoniFirst edition, published New York by Albert & Charles Boni in 1925. Full title on the title page is Michael Scarlett: A History. Octavo in black cloth with orange lettering. Cozzens's second novel, an Elizabethan historical novel. US first (Boni, 1925). A UK edition is sometimes cited but its publisher and date could not be confirmed from reliable sources, so it is not asserted here. No book club edition for this title.
• Cock Pit — 1928 · William MorrowFirst edition, New York: William Morrow & Company, 1928. Identified by the absence of any later-printing notice on the copyright page. Original black cloth, titles in red, orange-printed map endpapers, top edge red, others untrimmed. US first (Morrow, 1928). Set on the sugar plantations of Cuba; Cozzens's third book. No book club edition for this title in this period.
• The Son of Perdition — 1929 · William MorrowFirst edition, first printing, New York: William Morrow & Company, 1929. Identified by the absence of any later-printing notice on the copyright page. Bright yellow cloth stamped in black, patterned red endpapers. US first (Morrow, 1929). A UK Longmans, Green edition followed; sources disagree on whether it appeared in 1929 or 1930, so a precise UK year is not asserted. No book club edition for this title.
• S.S. San Pedro — 1931 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyUS first edition with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1931; a short novel of about 136 pages. Issued in silver-stamped slate-blue cloth. Later Harcourt printings omit the stated 'First Edition' line. US first (Harcourt, Brace, 1931) is the true first in the American text. The first UK edition, published by Longmans, Green in 1931 under the expanded title S.S. San Pedro: A Tale of the Sea, is bound in dark grayish-green cloth lettered in gilt on the spine; Bruccoli records substantial textual differences between the US and UK texts (Bruccoli A7), so the two are distinct states rather than a simple reprint. Harcourt reprints omit the stated 'First Edition' line. The differently titled and differently bound Longmans issue is the UK first, not a book-club edition.
• The Last Adam — 1933 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst edition with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1933; roughly 301 pages. The first-edition binding is black woven cloth with the spine lettered in white and a pictorial paper label pasted to the front board reproducing a wood engraving by Frank Peers; the priced dust jacket carries the same church/pictorial cover art. Reprints and later issues lack the…. US first (Harcourt, Brace, 1933). The first UK edition was issued by Longmans, Green in 1934 under the changed title A Cure of Flesh. Grosset & Dunlap later issued a cheap reprint, which is not the first. A Book-of-the-Month Club issue exists and can be distinguished from the trade first: only the trade first carries the stated 'First Edition' line on the copyright page, which the club issue and later reprints lack.
• Castaway — 1934 · Random HouseFirst edition, New York: Random House, 1934, in small octavo format. Black cloth stamped in silver, dark green top stain, about 181 pages. Bruccoli A9. The dust jacket's rear panel lists books by six Random House authors, as called for. US first (Random House, 1934). The first UK edition was published by Longmans, Green in London, also in 1934, as a standalone volume with dozens of textual variations from the US text. No book club edition is required to identify the trade first.
• Men and Brethren — 1936 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst Edition stated on the copyright page of the Harcourt, Brace and Company New York printing. The novel was issued in original black cloth, with the top and fore-edges of the deckled text block stained red. Review copies carry a front-endpaper publication stamp giving an early-January 1936 publication date, and the first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap. US first edition; the UK edition followed from Longmans in 1936. The book is recorded in the standard Cozzens references (Coan, p. 167; Hanna 834) as the New York, 1936 first. Later printings omit the First Edition statement on the copyright page.
• Ask Me Tomorrow — 1940 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst Edition stated on the copyright page. US first edition; the UK edition followed from Longmans in 1940. Later printings omit the First Edition statement.
• The Just and the Unjust — 1942 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst Edition stated on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth boards lettered in white on the spine, with a yellow topstain; 434 pages. The dust jacket carries the original published retail price on the front flap, and an unclipped, price-intact flap is the desirable state. US first edition (Harcourt, Brace, 1942); the UK edition followed from Longmans in 1943, so the US printing precedes. The Book-of-the-Month Club issue lacks the copyright-page First Edition statement and typically carries a blind-stamp to the lower rear board; trade reprints likewise omit the First Edition statement.
• Guard of Honor — 1948 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst edition has 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page (Harcourt's 1940s practice; the statement is removed on later printings, no number line in this era). Binding is grey cloth stamped in dark blue at the spine; first-issue dust jacket carries the printed price and is unclipped. US Harcourt, Brace 1948 true first; the 1949 Pulitzer winner. The point is the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Later printings remove the 'First Edition' statement. Reprints and book-club copies are marked accordingly.
• By Love Possessed — 1957 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst Edition stated on the copyright page, per Harcourt's practice of the period, together with a printing/date code on the copyright page. Harcourt used a sequential letter (printing) plus month-number plus two-digit-year code: the true first printing carries the code A.8.57, indicating the first printing of August 1957. Later printings advance the leading letter and month, and dealer copies are recorded with…. US first edition (Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1957); the UK edition followed from Longmans, Green in 1957. The US Harcourt printing precedes. The Book-of-the-Month Club issue lacks the copyright-page printing code and states no First Edition; it typically shows a blind-stamp dot or square to the lower rear board and carries no printed price on the jacket flap. The trade first edition states First Edition on the copyright page and carries the A.8.57 code.
• Children and Others — 1964 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldFirst Edition stated on the copyright page. A collection of sixteen stories arranged in five sections, running to 343 pages. Bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering and a gilt line design on the spine; the endpapers are yellow. The first-issue dust jacket has a yellow ground with an illustration of children's alphabet blocks spelling out the title, and the rear panel lists other Cozzens titles; a first-state…. US first edition; the UK edition followed from Longmans in 1965. Later printings omit the First Edition statement.
• Morning Noon and Night — 1968 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldFirst Edition stated on the copyright page; 408 pages. Cozzens's last novel. Bound in brown cloth boards with gilt lettering on the front board and spine and a light burgundy top-stain. The first-issue dust jacket carries a black-and-white author photograph and short biography on the rear flap, and should retain its printed price on the front flap (not clipped). US first edition, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968; the UK edition followed from Longmans in 1968. The book-club issue carries a blind-stamp to the rear board and lacks a printed jacket price; the trade first edition states First Edition on the copyright page.

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