4 Robert Penn Warren first editions are documented on this shelf, from Night Rider (1939) to Now and Then: Poems 1976-1978 (1978) across 3 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Robert Penn Warren 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 Robert Penn Warren copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Night Rider — 1939 · Houghton MifflinTrue first is Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939 (Grimshaw A3.a1), Warren's first novel and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship; approximately 5,000 copies printed, [viii]+460 pages. Houghton Mifflin firsts of this era are identified by the '1939' date on the title page (removed or altered on later printings) with the copyright page bearing no later-printing statement. Cloth is stamped in red;…. US Houghton Mifflin (Boston) 1939 is the true first; the UK Eyre & Spottiswoode edition followed in 1940. Census precedence is correct. A second American impression exists (cataloged Grimshaw A3.a2, 'first American edition, second impression') and is a reprint, not a first. The 1940 UK Eyre & Spottiswoode issue is a later edition, not the true first.
- All the King's Men — 1946 · Harcourt, Brace and CompanyFirst edition has 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page (Harcourt's 1940s practice; no number line in this era, the statement is removed on later printings). Binding is red cloth. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price and a Sinclair Lewis blurb on the rear panel; a later jacket state omits the Sinclair Lewis text from the rear panel. US Harcourt, Brace 1946 true first; the 1947 Pulitzer winner. The point is the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page. Later printings remove the 'First Edition' statement. Book-club editions lack the statement and the printed jacket price.
- Promises: Poems 1954-1956 — 1957 · Random HouseWon the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the 1958 National Book Award. First printing: Random House, New York, 1957, identified by 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page (Random House practice of the period), in dust jacket. US Random House (1957) is the true first; the UK Eyre & Spottiswoode edition is the first English printing and follows the American. No book-club issue. The first printing carries the 'First Printing' statement on the copyright page; later printings drop or alter it.
- Now and Then: Poems 1976-1978 — 1978 · Random HouseWon the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. First printing: Random House, New York, 1978, with 'First Edition' stated and the Random House number line ending in '2' on the copyright page, in dust jacket. A signed/numbered limited issue also exists. US Random House (1978) is the true first. No book-club issue. The trade first has 'First Edition' plus the full number line ending in '2'; later printings advance the line.
More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Robert Silverberg, Robert Smith Surtees, Robert Stone, Roger Zelazny, Rudy Rucker, Rudyard Kipling.
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