James Jones First Editions

• From Here to Eternity — 1951 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst printing carries the Scribner's 'A' on the copyright page with the publisher's seal beneath it. 861 pages. First-state dust jacket priced 4.50 on the front flap with the author photograph on the rear panel. Jones's debut novel. US Scribner first; UK Collins followed in 1952. Won the National Book Award for fiction in 1952. Second and later printings lack the 'A' and seal on the copyright page; the book club edition carries a blind-stamp impression on the rear board.
• Some Came Running — 1957 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst printing carries the Scribner's capital 'A' with the printing code 'A-10.57 [H]' on the copyright page together with the publisher's seal. A very long novel of xii plus 1266 (and 2) pages in red and black cloth. The pictorial first-issue dust jacket was designed by Greta Franzen and, when present, retains its original printed price on the front flap; an unclipped, price-present jacket is the desirable…. US Scribner first (New York, 1957); the UK Collins edition followed in 1959. Book club edition lacks the 'A' and the 'A-10.57 [H]' printing code, carries a blind-stamp on the rear board, and is typically smaller and lighter than the roughly 8.5-inch tall trade first.
• The Pistol — 1958 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst printing shows the Scribner's 'A' with the printing code 'A-10.58[H]' on the copyright page and the publisher's seal. A short novel. First-state dust jacket priced 3.00 on the front flap with an 'A' on the rear flap. US Scribner first appeared in 1958; the UK Collins edition followed in 1959. The original record's 1959 was the British date, not the true first. Reprints lack the 'A' and printing code on the copyright page.
• The Thin Red Line — 1962 · Charles Scribner's SonsFirst printing shows the Scribner's 'A' with the printing code 'A-6.62[H]' on the copyright page and the publisher's seal. WWII Guadalcanal novel; first edition includes the Rafael Palacios endpaper maps and the sheet music in the rear. US Scribner first; UK Collins followed in 1963. Book club edition lacks the 'A' and printing code and carries a blind-stamp on the rear board.
• Go to the Widow-Maker — 1967 · Delacorte PressFirst printing is identified by the words 'First printing' stated on the copyright page (Delacorte's convention of the period). 618 pages, black boards with gilt lettering. Jones's first book after leaving Scribner's. US Delacorte first; UK Collins also appeared in 1967, after the US edition. Book club edition carries a blind-stamp on the rear board and does not state 'First printing.'.
• The Ice-Cream Headache and Other Stories — 1968 · Delacorte PressFirst printing states 'First printing' on the copyright page. Jones's only collection of short stories, thirteen tales with an author's introduction; roughly xvi plus 238 pages, red cloth with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial jacket. US Delacorte first; UK Collins followed in 1968. Later printings are stated as such on the copyright page.
• The Merry Month of May — 1971 · Delacorte PressFirst printing is stated on the copyright page, bound in black cloth boards with the author and title stamped in gilt on the spine, 361 pages. The first-issue dust jacket carries its printed price at the top corner of the front flap and should be unclipped. Novel of the 1968 Paris student uprising. US Delacorte 1971 is the true first; a UK Collins edition followed the same year. A book club edition exists and is distinct from the trade first printing, which explicitly states First Printing on the copyright page.
• A Touch of Danger — 1973 · Doubleday & Company'First Edition' stated on the copyright page per Doubleday's standard practice, with no additional printings named. Bound in maroon cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, 431 pages, with map endpapers and red-sprayed bottom page edges (Garden City, NY, 1973). His only mystery novel, featuring the American private eye Lobo working in the Greek islands. A first-printing jacket carries the original printed price and…. US Doubleday 1973 is the true first; a UK Collins (London) edition followed the same year. Book-club and reprint states omit the stated 'First Edition' line, are printed on lighter bulk without the red-sprayed edges, and carry a jacket with no printed price.
• Viet Journal — 1974 · Delacorte PressFirst printing, 268 pages, a non-fiction day-by-day account of Jones's 1973 reportorial trip to South Vietnam for the New York Times Magazine. Consistent with Delacorte practice for its titles of this period, the first printing is identified by the words "First Printing" stated on the copyright page with no later printing dates or numbers added. US Delacorte 1974 is the true first. Later printings are stated as such on the copyright page, which on the first printing reads simply "First Printing.".
• WWII — 1975 · Grosset & DunlapFirst printing of the oversized illustrated hardcover (roughly 12 by 9.25 inches), 272 pages, blue cloth, with wartime art by Mauldin, Baker, Brodie and others assembled by Art Weithas. Jones supplied the text. The true first is the Grosset & Dunlap hardcover of 1975. The Ballantine illustrated paperback is a separate later issue (1976), so it should not be presented as co-publisher of the first. The Ballantine paperback of 1976 is 'first edition thus' and distinct from the Grosset & Dunlap hardcover first.
• Whistle — 1978 · Delacorte PressDelacorte trade first printing states 'First Delacorte Press printing' / 'First Printing' on the copyright page and is bound in light brown boards with a dark brown spine gilt-stamped on the spine; roughly 452 pages with rough-cut edges. Published posthumously, the final three chapters were completed from Jones's notes and conversations by his editor Willie Morris. Third novel of the army war trilogy following…. A leatherbound Franklin Library edition, privately printed for members of the First Edition Society by arrangement with Delacorte and issued with a separate 'Notes from the Editors' pamphlet, appeared in 1978 and precedes the Delacorte trade printing; the Delacorte 1978 hardcover is the true first trade edition. A UK Collins edition also followed. Book club editions lack the stated 'First Printing' line and are distinct from the trade first; they typically use cheaper boards and lack the printed jacket price. The gilt-decorated, all-edges-gilt Franklin Library issue is a separate leatherbound printing, not the trade first.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: James Joyce, James McBride, James Salter, James T. Farrell, Jane Austen, J.D. Salinger.

← All authors · All genres · part of the First-Edition Identification resource.