2 Mary McCarthy first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Company She Keeps (1942) to The Group (1963) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Mary McCarthy 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 Mary McCarthy copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

The Company She Keeps — 1942 · Simon & SchusterThe US Simon & Schuster (New York, 1942) hardcover is the true first and McCarthy's first book. Simon & Schuster did not adopt a 'First Edition'/'First Printing' statement until about 1952, so the 1942 first is identified by the '1942' date and the ABSENCE of any later-printing or additional-impression statement on the copyright page rather than by a printed first-edition line. It is bound in gray cloth with a…. US Simon & Schuster 1942 is unambiguously the true first. UK/British printings are all later; the census 'Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1957' is at most one later UK issue (an earlier UK edition may exist but is not corroborated here), so collectors should treat the US 1942 as the true first.
The Group — 1963 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldThe US Harcourt, Brace & World (New York, 1963) hardcover is the true first. Harcourt, Brace & World (1960-1970) identified first printings by 'First Edition' (or 'First American Edition') stated on the copyright page and dropped that statement on later printings; the ABCDE letter-line system belongs to the successor Harcourt Brace Jovanovich imprint and does NOT apply to a 1963 book, so identification here rests…. US Harcourt, Brace & World 1963 is the true first; the first UK edition (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1963) followed the same year and is the later issue. Census precedence confirmed. A book-club (Book-of-the-Month) issue exists; standard tells are 'Book Club Edition' printed at the lower front jacket flap with no price present, plus a small blind-stamp to the rear board.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Mary Oliver, Mervyn Peake, Michael Chabon, Michael Crichton, Michael Moorcock, Mickey Spillane.

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