8 Walker Percy first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Moviegoer (1961) to The Thanatos Syndrome (1987) across 3 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Walker Percy 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 Walker Percy copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Moviegoer — 1961 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst edition states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the Knopf Borzoi device; the author's debut and National Book Award winner. Original jacket with its printed price. First-issue jacket has the original (pre-award) blurbs and no later-printing notice; the first printing was small. US Knopf is the true first; UK Eyre & Spottiswoode (1963) is later. As Percy's scarce debut with a small first printing, genuine firsts are sought; later jackets add the National Book Award notice. Book-club edition lacks 'FIRST EDITION', has a blind-stamp, and uses bulkier paper; post-award jackets carry the award seal/notice.
- The Last Gentleman — 1966 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFarrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1966. First edition identified by the FSG copyright-page statement ('First printing, 1966' / 'First published') with no number line and no later-printing notice; first-issue dust jacket carrying the original price to the flap. Approximately 409 pages. The US Farrar, Straus & Giroux edition is the true first; the UK edition follows. FSG trade firsts carry the printed first-printing statement and a priced jacket flap; book-club copies lack the flap price and may show a blind gutter dot on the rear board.
- Love in the Ruins — 1971 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxFSG 'First printing, 1971' stated on the copyright page; black cloth with brown top-stain, orange endpapers, 403 pages; first-issue jacket carrying the original price of 7.95 with the bright orange/yellow/blue spine lettering. US Farrar, Straus & Giroux is the true first. Stated 'First printing, 1971' is present on the true first; the book-club edition lacks the flap price and is on lighter boards.
- The Message in the Bottle — 1975 · Farrar, Straus and Giroux"First printing, 1975" stated on the copyright page. Bound in orange cloth boards with gilt spine titling; first printing has an UNstained top edge (the absence of a top stain is a supporting first-printing point). First-issue jacket priced 10.00. Full title: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux first edition is the true first; first-thus collection of Percy's essays on language and semiotics (his first nonfiction book). Reprints carry later printing statements on the copyright page in place of "First printing, 1975"; verify the stated first-printing line together with the orange cloth and unstained top edge.
- Lancelot — 1977 · Farrar, Straus and Giroux'First printing, 1977' stated on the copyright page (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Cloth binding with gilt spine lettering and an orange top-stain, in the first-issue dust jacket designed by Jacqueline Schuman, the flap of which should retain its printed price. US (FSG) is the true first. US (FSG) is the true first; the UK edition (Secker & Warburg, 1977) follows. The book club edition is blind-stamped on the rear board and lacks the flap price; the first printing is confirmed instead by the 'First printing, 1977' copyright-page statement and the priced first-issue jacket.
- The Second Coming — 1980 · Farrar, Straus & GirouxTrade first: FSG 'First printing, 1980' on the copyright page; orange cloth boards stamped in gilt, tan endpapers, 360 pages; first-issue jacket. A separate signed limited issue of 450 copies (blue cloth, in a publisher's slipcase) was signed at the colophon. US Farrar, Straus & Giroux is the true first; a signed limited issue of 450 copies was published alongside the trade first. The trade first states 'First printing, 1980'; the book-club edition lacks the flap price and shows a gutter/blind code.
- Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book — 1983 · Farrar, Straus and Giroux"First printing" stated on the copyright page. Gray boards with black cloth spine, silver-stamped. First-issue dust jacket designed by Sigrid Spaeth, priced 14.95 (should be unclipped). A signed, slipcased limited edition of 350 copies was also issued. US (FSG) is the true first of this satirical nonfiction title; first-thus. Later printings are noted on the copyright page; book club copies lack the flap price.
- The Thanatos Syndrome — 1987 · Farrar, Straus and Giroux"First printing" stated on the copyright page; half black cloth with green paper boards. Percy's last novel. First-issue dust jacket priced 17.95. A separate signed limited edition was issued by the Franklin Library (full green leather, raised bands, all edges gilt, with a special message from the author), not by FSG. US (FSG) trade hardcover is the true first; the UK edition (Andre Deutsch, 1987) follows. The Franklin Library signed leather edition is a separately produced premium, not an FSG trade variant. Book club edition lacks the printing statement; the key distinction is FSG trade first versus the Franklin Library signed leather edition.
More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Wallace Stevens, Walt Whitman, Walter Scott, Washington Irving, Wilkie Collins, Will Self.
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