Jerzy Kosinski First Editions

• The Future Is Ours, Comrade: Conversations with the Russians — 1960 · DoubledayFirst edition carries the publisher's stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page, with the priced dust jacket present. Doubleday (Garden City) hardcover, 286 pages, published under the pseudonym Joseph Novak with an introduction by NBC correspondent Irving R. Levine. True first is the 1960 Doubleday (Garden City) edition, confirmed by the stated 'First Edition' line. This was Kosinski's first book, issued under the Novak pseudonym, and precedes The Painted Bird (1965). No prominent book-club issue is commonly recorded for this title; the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page is the identifying point.
• No Third Path — 1962 · DoubledayFirst Edition stated on the copyright page; issued from Garden City, New York by Doubleday in 1962 in a priced dust jacket that should retain its printed price to be first-state. An interview-based nonfiction study of everyday Soviet life, published under the Joseph Novak pseudonym; the author's second and scarcest early book. Signed or inscribed copies from this period are unusual, and any contemporary…. The true first is the 1962 Doubleday edition under the Joseph Novak pseudonym. It followed 'The Future Is Ours, Comrade' (1960) as the second of Kosinski's two early nonfiction books written as Novak, preceding all of his fiction under his own name. None notable.
• The Painted Bird — 1965 · Houghton MifflinFirst edition so stated, first state with the textual point: the final line of type at the foot of page 270 is duplicated at the head of page 271. Issued in brown cloth, front cover blind-stamped, with the first-issue priced pictorial dust jacket. Original 1965 text, later revised with a new Afterword in 1976. True first is the 1965 Houghton Mifflin edition. This was his first novel under his own name, following the earlier 'Joseph Novak' nonfiction. UK edition: W. H. Allen, 1966. Book club edition is blind-stamped to the rear board, lacks the printed price, and is noted as a book club edition on the jacket flap.
• Steps — 1968 · Random HouseFirst edition, first printing so stated on the copyright page, Random House, New York, 1968, in the priced illustrated dust jacket (printed price present at the flap, unclipped). The publisher's binding is quarter maroon/burgundy cloth over beige paper-covered boards, with the spine lettered in gilt and the top edge stained orange as issued. Won the 1969 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. The 1968 Random House first printing, with 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page, is the true first. The book-club edition is blind-stamped on the rear board and its jacket lacks the printed price found on the trade first.
• Being There — 1971 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichFirst edition, first printing, 1971 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York). The first-issue point is the letter sequence 'ABCDE' on the copyright page (a descending letter line, not a number line). Bound in quarter brown cloth over black paper-covered boards, with spine lettering in blue and black. Issued in a priced dust jacket designed by Hal Siegel; the printed price should be present on the front flap. True first is the 1971 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition, identified by the 'ABCDE' letter line. UK edition: The Bodley Head, 1972. The book club edition lacks the 'ABCDE' letter line, is typically blind-stamped on the rear board, and its jacket lacks the printed price.
• The Devil Tree — 1973 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1973; first edition so stated on the copyright page, in the priced dust jacket. Quarter-bound in black cloth with green paper-covered boards and silver titling to the spine; approximately 208 pages. This is the original 1973 text; a substantially revised and expanded edition was later issued by St. Martin's Press in 1981. The true first is the 1973 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition. The 1981 St. Martin's revised and expanded edition is a 'first thus,' not the true first. Book-club copies are blind-stamped to the rear board and lack the printed jacket price; the trade first carries the stated first-edition line and the intact price.
• Cockpit — 1975 · Houghton MifflinFirst printing carries the publisher's first-edition statement with a full number line on the copyright page; the dust jacket is price-clipped only when later. Issued in black cloth with an orange topstain. Hardcover original. True first is the 1975 Houghton Mifflin (Boston) edition. A Book Club Edition exists; identify it by the absence of the number line and the blind-stamped dot on the rear board, with no price on the jacket flap.
• Blind Date — 1977 · Houghton MifflinFirst printing carries the publisher's first-edition statement with a full number line on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth with silver lettering on the spine and a blind-stamped title on the front board; issued in a printed dust jacket bearing the original price on the front flap (present, not clipped). True first is the 1977 Houghton Mifflin (Boston) edition. A Book Club Edition exists; identify it by the absence of the number line, a blind-stamped mark on the rear board, and a jacket with no printed price on the flap.
• Passion Play — 1979 · St. Martin's PressFirst trade edition, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1979, 271 pages, octavo. The first printing carries a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Bound in quarter black cloth over red paper-covered boards with silver lettering to the spine. First-state dust jacket retains the printed publisher's price on the front flap; a first is 'unclipped' when that price is intact. A separate signed limited issue of 500…. True first is the 1979 St. Martin's Press (New York) trade edition, 271 pages. A Book Club Edition exists; identify it by the absence of the number line, the blind-stamped gutter code (small square or dot) on the rear board, and a dust jacket lacking any printed price.
• Pinball — 1982 · Bantam BooksFirst edition, Bantam Books (New York), 1982 (ISBN 0-553-05007-3), about 287 pages, issued as a hardcover with the publisher's first-edition statement. Bound in quarter black cloth over black paper-covered boards, with title and decoration stamped in silver on the spine. The first-issue pictorial dust jacket carries the printed flap price (present, not clipped). True first is the 1982 Bantam Books (New York) hardcover, released simultaneously with a trade-paperback issue in the same year; the hardcover in dust jacket is the collected first. The UK edition followed from Michael Joseph in 1983. A Book Club Edition exists; identify it by the blind-stamped mark on the rear board and the absence of a printed jacket price. Note also that a same-year Bantam trade-paperback issue exists alongside the hardcover.
• The Hermit of 69th Street: The Working Papers of Norbert Kosky — 1988 · Seaver Books / Henry HoltFirst printing carries a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and is issued in a dust jacket with a printed price on the front flap. The jacket was designed and illustrated by Jon Volk. Kosinski's last novel, an octavo of roughly 530 pages. The true first is the 1988 Seaver Books edition, New York, distributed by Henry Holt. No prominent book-club issue is commonly recorded for this title; confirm the first printing by the terminal 1 in the number line and the price-present jacket.

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