Reynolds Price First Editions

• A Long and Happy Life — 1962 · AtheneumCopyright page states First Edition per Atheneum convention. First issue has a bright red top-edge stain (later issues a duller orange stain) and the names of the contributors of the jacket blurbs (including Eudora Welty, Harper Lee, and Stephen Spender) printed in yellow-green ink. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price on the front flap. Author's first novel; won the William Faulkner Award. US (Atheneum, 1962) is the true first; the UK edition (Chatto & Windus, 1962) follows. The complete short novel had appeared in Harper's Magazine shortly before book publication. Later issues and book-club copies lack the bright red top-stain and the yellow-green blurb-name ink, and the club issue is blind-stamped with no flap price.
• The Names and Faces of Heroes — 1963 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page; Atheneum used the explicit First Edition statement (no number line) through the mid-1980s. Story collection, the author's second book following A Long and Happy Life. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US edition (Atheneum) and UK edition (Chatto and Windus) both appeared in 1963; collectors generally treat the Atheneum printing as the first, but precedence over the London edition is not firmly established, so the US copy should not be asserted as definitively prior. Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• A Generous Man — 1966 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page; Atheneum used the explicit First Edition statement (no number line) through the mid-1980s. Novel continuing the Mustian family begun in A Long and Happy Life; green cloth binding. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US first (Atheneum); UK edition (Chatto and Windus) follows. Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• Love and Work — 1968 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page; Atheneum used the explicit First Edition statement (no number line) through the mid-1980s. Novel; original dark blue cloth with gilt spine and front-board lettering. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US first (Atheneum). Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• Permanent Errors — 1970 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page; Atheneum used the explicit First Edition statement (no number line) through the mid-1980s. Collection of stories and a novella. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US first (Atheneum); first appearance of this collection. Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• The Surface of Earth — 1975 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page; Atheneum used the explicit First Edition statement (no number line) through the mid-1980s. First volume of the Mayfield trilogy; copyright page reads Copyright 1973, 1974, 1975. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US first (Atheneum). Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• The Source of Light — 1981 · AtheneumFirst US edition states First Edition on the copyright page. Atheneum did not adopt a number line until the mid-1980s, so a 1981 first carries the First Edition statement and no number line. Second volume of the Mayfield trilogy, following The Surface of Earth. First-issue jacket carries the original price on the front flap. US first (Atheneum). Book club editions lack the First Edition statement, are printed on thinner bulk, typically carry a blind stamp to the lower rear board, and have a jacket with no flap price.
• Kate Vaiden — 1986 · AtheneumAtheneum first printing. Through 1986 Atheneum stated First Edition on the copyright page (no number line); the original dust jacket is unclipped with the publisher's price intact. The earlier draft cited a number line ending in 1, which is incorrect for a 1986 Atheneum title, and asserted a National Book Critics Circle Award that is disputed in award records; both have been removed. US first (Atheneum, New York). Book club edition lacks the stated First Edition on the copyright page, typically carries a blind stamp on the rear board, and has a jacket with no printed price.
• Good Hearts — 1988 · AtheneumAtheneum first printing identified by the number line on the copyright page containing a 1 (Atheneum adopted number lines for first editions from the late 1980s). Sequel to A Long and Happy Life, continuing the story of Rosacoke Mustian and Wesley Beavers. Original unclipped dust jacket with the publisher's price intact. US first (Atheneum, New York). Book club edition typically lacks the full number line, carries a blind stamp on the rear board, and has a jacket with no printed price.
• The Tongues of Angels — 1990 · AtheneumAtheneum first printing identified by the number line on the copyright page containing a 1. Original unclipped dust jacket with the publisher's price intact. A signed limited edition was also issued; the points above describe the standard trade first. US first (Atheneum, New York). Book club edition typically lacks the full number line, carries a blind stamp on the rear board, and has a jacket with no printed price.
• Blue Calhoun — 1992 · AtheneumAtheneum first printing identified by the number line on the copyright page containing a 1. Burgundy cloth with gilt lettering; original unclipped pictorial dust jacket with the publisher's price intact. A signed limited slipcased edition was also issued; the points above describe the standard trade first. US first (Atheneum, New York). Book club edition typically lacks the full number line, carries a blind stamp on the rear board, and has a jacket with no printed price.
• The Collected Stories — 1993 · AtheneumAtheneum first printing identified by the number line on the copyright page containing a 1. Gathers fifty stories, including the earlier collections The Names and Faces of Heroes and Permanent Errors plus previously uncollected stories, so it is a first-thus gathering. Original unclipped dust jacket with the publisher's price intact. US first (Atheneum, New York); first collected gathering of the stories (first thus). Book club edition typically lacks the full number line, carries a blind stamp on the rear board, and has a jacket with no printed price.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Richard Brautigan, Richard Ford, Richard Paul Russo, Richard Powers, Richard Russo, Richard Wright.

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