Wendell Berry First Editions

• Nathan Coulter — 1960 · Houghton MifflinHoughton Mifflin, 1960, with the first printing stated on the copyright page; 1960 also on the title page. Black cloth, black top edge, 204 pages, printed by The Riverside Press, Cambridge; dust jacket priced 3.50 (unclipped). True first US edition; Berry's first book and first novel. No book-club concern for the stated first printing; later Counterpoint reissues carry Berry's revised text and are not the first.
• November Twenty Six Nineteen Hundred Sixty Three — 1964 · George BrazillerGeorge Braziller, New York, 1964, with drawings by Ben Shahn; a memorial poem for John F. Kennedy. Issued in two states in 1964. The signed limited issue is a run of 3013 copies, printed larger and on Fabriano handmade paper, with a tipped-in color plate at the rear, in cloth boards housed in a matching cloth slipcase, and signed by both Berry and Shahn on a leaf at the rear. A concurrent trade edition was also…. Berry's first separately published poem in book form (the elegy first appeared in The Nation in 1963). Both the signed limited and the trade edition are 1964 firsts; the limited is the premier issue. No book-club concern. Correct the prior note: the trade edition is a concurrent 1964 issue, not a later reissue distinct from the limited.
• The Broken Ground — 1964 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldHarcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1964; the copyright page states 'first edition.' A slim volume of poems, roughly 56 pages, bound in light brown paper-covered boards over light gray buckram spine, the spine lettered in gilt, with green endpapers. The first-issue dust jacket is found unclipped. Catalogued as Freedman A3a. True first US edition of Berry's early poetry collection The Broken Ground, his third book and first full collection of poems, so avoid ranking it as an overall debut. A separate first UK edition was later issued by Jonathan Cape (London, 1966). No book-club concern for the stated first edition; confirm the stated 'first edition' line, the buckram-and-boards binding, and green endpapers.
• A Place on Earth — 1967 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldFirst US edition, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967 (Freedman A2a), the author's second novel. The copyright page carries the publisher's first-edition convention with no later-printing statement. Bound in light brown boards with the spine titled in dark brown and green, with orange endpapers; roughly 550 pages. The dust jacket is tan with the illustration printed in brown, green and white, and should retain its…. True first US edition of the novel. Berry substantially revised and shortened the text for the 1983 North Point Press edition, so the 1967 Harcourt printing preserves the original, longer text. No book-club concern for the Harcourt first; do not confuse the 1983 North Point revised edition with the first.
• Openings — 1968 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldHarcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1968 (Freedman A7a); poems, 67 pages, octavo. First edition per the copyright page with no later-printing statement. Issued in a dust jacket carrying the publisher's printed price, which should be present on an unrestored jacket. True first US edition of the poetry collection Openings; no preceding UK or trade issue. No book-club concern for the Harcourt first.
• Findings — 1969 · Prairie PressThe Prairie Press (Iowa City) letterpress first edition, 1969, a slim fine-press poetry volume with no later-printing indicia. Berry's third collection of poems, following The Broken Ground and Openings, built chiefly around the two long sequences 'The House' and 'The Handing Down.'. True first; a fine-press letterpress volume issued by Carroll Coleman's Prairie Press in Iowa City. It is Berry's third book of poems. No book-club edition; a fine-press item printed by letterpress at the Prairie Press.
• The Long-Legged House — 1969 · Harcourt, Brace & WorldHarcourt, Brace & World first printing, 1969; green cloth boards with silver spine lettering and green endpapers; Berry's first essay collection (Freedman A14b). The precise first-issue dust-jacket price is not confirmed by reliable sources, so no jacket price is asserted. True first US; Berry's first collection of essays. No book-club edition concern.
• Farming: A Hand Book — 1970 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich first printing, 1970; hardcover poetry collection introducing 'The Mad Farmer.' The precise first-issue dust-jacket price is not confirmed by reliable sources, so no jacket price is asserted. True first US; poems, including the first appearance of the Mad Farmer. No book-club edition concern.
• The Hidden Wound — 1970 · Houghton MifflinHoughton Mifflin, Boston, 1970 with 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page; green cloth with black cloth spine, title gilt on front cover, black topstain; first-issue dust jacket noting the 4.95 price on the front flap. True first US; Berry's book-length essay on race. No book-club concern; later North Point reissue is a distinct edition.
• The Unforeseen Wilderness: An Essay on Kentucky's Red River Gorge — 1971 · University Press of KentuckyUniversity Press of Kentucky (Lexington) first printing, 1971; square octavo in white cloth with black and gilt blind-stamped titles and black endpapers; Berry's essay followed by 48 black-and-white photographic plates by Ralph Eugene (Gene) Meatyard. True first US. No book-club edition concern.
• A Continuous Harmony: Essays Cultural and Agricultural — 1972 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich first printing, 1972; rust-colored cloth over boards with white-stamped spine title and orange topstain; Berry's second essay collection, including 'Think Little' and 'Discipline and Hope.' The precise first-issue dust-jacket price is not confirmed by reliable sources, so no jacket price is asserted. True first US; Berry's second collection of essays. No book-club edition concern.
• The Country of Marriage — 1973 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich hardcover, 1973. Identify the first printing by the copyright-page statement reading First edition followed by the letter string BCDE. During 1973 to 1983 HBJ dropped the leading A, so a genuine first printing of this era reads First edition / BCDE; later printings shorten the string (CDE, DE, and so on). The book is a slim volume of poems in dust jacket; verify the print line rather…. True first US edition (poems). The 1973 HBJ hardcover with the First edition / BCDE print line is the collected first; distinguish it from the softcover HBJ/Harvest issue. No book-club edition concern. Confirm the first printing by the BCDE letter string, not by the 1973 date, since a stated first-edition line is the reliable point.
• The Memory of Old Jack — 1974 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich hardcover, 1974. First printing carries the copyright-page statement First edition with the letter string BCDE (HBJ dropped the leading A during 1973 to 1983). Later printings show a shortened string. Dust jacket present on the first. True first US edition (novel), the third Port William book. The 1974 HBJ hardcover with the First edition / BCDE line is the collected first. No book-club edition concern noted. Verify via the BCDE print line rather than the year alone.
• Clearing — 1977 · Harcourt Brace JovanovichHarcourt Brace Jovanovich hardcover, 1977; quarter black cloth with brown paper over boards. First printing carries the copyright-page statement First edition with the letter string BCDE (HBJ dropped the leading A during 1973 to 1983). Dust jacket price 6.95, confirmed on first-issue jackets. True first US edition (poems), Berry's sixth volume of poetry. The 1977 HBJ hardcover with the First edition / BCDE line is the collected first. No book-club edition concern. Confirm via the BCDE print line and the matching first-issue jacket.
• The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture — 1977 · Sierra Club BooksSierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1977. First printing is the navy blue cloth hardcover, title stamped in white on the spine and blind-embossed on the front cover, in dust jacket. Identify the first printing by the copyright page showing no statement of a later printing; subsequent printings (a third printing appeared as early as 1978) add printing notation, so the absence of any additional-printing line marks…. True first US edition and Berry's most influential work of nonfiction. The 1977 Sierra Club Books hardcover is the first; distinguish it from later Sierra Club and Counterpoint reissues. No book-club edition concern. Later Sierra Club reissues are distinct; confirm the first by the copyright page carrying no additional-printing statement.
• Recollected Essays 1965-1980 — 1981 · North Point PressNorth Point Press, San Francisco, 1981; issued simultaneously in a cloth hardcover (gray cloth over boards, in dust jacket) and in wrappers. The cloth hardcover is the collected first. Identify the first printing by the copyright page showing no later-printing statement. First edition thus, a selected/collected volume gathering essays from 1965 to 1980. The 1981 North Point cloth issue is the collected first. No book-club edition concern. The cloth issue is the collected first; distinguish it from the simultaneous wrappers.
• The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays Cultural and Agricultural — 1981 · North Point PressNorth Point Press, San Francisco, 1981; quarter black cloth with tan cloth-covered boards, in dust jacket. North Point issued the title simultaneously in a cloth hardcover and in wrappers; the cloth hardcover is the collected first. Identify the first printing by the copyright page showing no later-printing statement. True first US edition. North Point commonly issued cloth and wrappers simultaneously; the cloth issue is the collected first. Distinguish from later Counterpoint reissues. No book-club edition concern. Distinguish the cloth issue from the simultaneous wrappers, and confirm the first by the copyright page carrying no additional-printing notation.
• The Wheel — 1982 · North Point PressNorth Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1982, of this poetry collection. North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page. The book was issued simultaneously in a cloth binding (ISBN 0-86547-079-0) and in wrappers (ISBN 0-86547-078-2); the cloth issue is the smaller binding and…. True first edition of this poetry collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing. Because North Point used no number line, confirm a first printing by the clean copyright page (no statement of later or additional printings) rather than by a printer's key. No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue is the smaller binding and the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.
• Standing by Words — 1983 · North Point PressNorth Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1983, of this essay collection. North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page. The book was issued simultaneously in a cloth binding (ISBN 0-86547-121-5) and in wrappers (ISBN 0-86547-122-3); the cloth issue was a small binding of the…. True first edition of this essay collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing. Because North Point used no number line, verify a first printing by the clean copyright page (no statement of later or additional printings) rather than by a printer's key. No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue was the smaller binding and is the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.
• Collected Poems 1957-1982 — 1985 · North Point PressNorth Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1985, cited in the Freedman bibliography as A52b. Issued simultaneously in two forms: a cloth hardcover (maroon cloth boards, gilt lettering to the spine) in a dust jacket, and a trade-paperback wrappers issue. 268 pages, measuring roughly 5 the printed price by 8 the printed price inches. North Point did not use a number line on this title, so first-printing…. First edition of this compilation (first thus). Nearly two hundred poems selected from the eight earlier collections, some retitled, abridged, or lightly revised; not a first appearance of the individual poems. No book-club edition was issued. North Point printed both the maroon cloth-in-jacket hardcover and a wrappers issue in 1985; the cloth-in-jacket copy is the preferred collectible form. Later printings and the subsequent Counterpoint reissue are reprints, not the North Point first.
• The Wild Birds: Six Stories of the Port William Membership — 1986 · North Point PressNorth Point Press (San Francisco) first printing, 1986, of this collection of six Port William stories (Thicker Than Liquor; Where Did They Go?; It Wasn't Me; The Boundary; That Distant Land; The Wild Birds). North Point books carry no printer's number line, so a first printing is identified by the absence of any later-printing or additional-printing statement on the copyright page. The book was issued…. True first edition of this story collection; North Point was Berry's US publisher and there was no earlier UK printing. Because North Point used no number line, confirm a first printing by the clean copyright page (no statement of later or additional printings) rather than by a printer's key. No book-club edition. North Point issued the cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated between them; the cloth issue is the preferred collectible form. Later North Point printings add a printing statement to the copyright page.
• Home Economics — 1987 · North Point PressNorth Point Press first printing, 1987, with no number line; issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers with no priority stated. Full title Home Economics: Fourteen Essays. The cloth issue and the wrappered issue carry distinct ISBNs (cloth 0-86547-274-2; wrappers 0-86547-275-0), which is the readiest way to tell the two bindings apart. True first edition of this essay collection (fourteen essays); no earlier UK printing. No book-club edition. North Point issued cloth and wrappers simultaneously with no priority stated; the cloth issue is the preferred collectible form.
• Sabbaths — 1987 · North Point PressNorth Point Press first printing, 1987, with no number line; issued in cloth (brown cloth, gilt spine lettering) with dust jacket, and in wrappers. True first edition of this poetry collection (Sabbath poems 1979-1985); no earlier UK printing. No book-club edition. North Point issued cloth and wrappers; the cloth-in-jacket issue is the preferred collectible form.
• Remembering — 1988 · North Point PressNorth Point Press first printing, 1988, in burgundy cloth-backed boards stamped in gold; the copyright/title-page year reads 1988 with no later-printing statement. North Point did not use a printer's number line. True first edition of the novel (subtitled 'A Novel'). No book-club edition of concern. The clothbound North Point issue is the collected first.
• What Are People For? — 1990 · North Point PressNorth Point Press first printing, 1990, in cloth-backed boards stamped in gold on the spine; title/copyright page dated 1990 with no later-printing statement. North Point did not use a number line. Full title carries the subtitle 'Essays'. True first edition of this collection of twenty-two essays. No book-club edition of concern. The clothbound North Point issue is the collected first.
• Fidelity: Five Stories — 1992 · PantheonFirst US edition, Pantheon Books (a Knopf/Random House imprint), 1992, with the title page dated 1992 and the copyright-page number line descending to 1; ISBN 0-679-41633-1. Issued in cloth in a first-issue dust jacket with the printed price present on the flap. Collects five interlinked Port William stories. True first US edition of these five interlinked Port William stories. No earlier trade edition precedes it. No significant book-club edition concern; confirm the first printing by the descending number line ending in 1 and the priced first-issue jacket.
• Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community — 1993 · PantheonPantheon Books first edition, New York, 1993, with the title page and copyright page dated 1993 and the copyright-page number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) with no added-printing statement. Full title carries the subtitle 'Eight Essays'; the collection gathers eight essays on conservation, work, community, sexuality, and the relationship of Christianity to creation, and runs to roughly 177 pages. A…. True first US edition of these eight essays. No major book-club edition concern. Note the later trade paperback reissue carrying ISBN 0-679-75651-5 is a reprint, not the 1993 Pantheon hardcover first.
• Watch with Me — 1994 · PantheonPantheon first printing, 1994, with the copyright-page number line descending to 1; title page dated 1994. ISBN 0-679-43469-0. Full title: 'Watch with Me: and Six Other Stories of the Yet-Remembered Ptolemy Proudfoot and His Wife, Miss Minnie, née Quinch.'. True first US edition of these Port William stories of Tol Proudfoot and Miss Minnie (the title story plus six others). No major book-club edition concern.
• A World Lost — 1996 · CounterpointCounterpoint, Washington, DC, 1996; a Port William novel, 151 pages, ISBN 1-887178-22-8, title page dated 1996. First printing carries the full copyright-page number line descending to 1. Bound in boards with gilt lettering to the spine and blue endpapers; the first-issue wraparound dust jacket bears a dark night-scene illustration, an author photograph on the inner flap, and the printed price on the flap, which…. True first edition of the novel, part of the Port William cycle. No major book-club edition concern for the Counterpoint first.
• Jayber Crow — 2000 · CounterpointCounterpoint (Washington, D.C.) first printing, dated 2000, identified by the full number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) on the copyright page. Bound in magenta/pink boards with a contrasting green cloth spine stamped in gilt; approximately xiv + 363 pages, octavo. Issued in a brown illustrated dust jacket with tan lettering to the front panel and spine; the jacket should retain its printed price and…. True first US edition of the novel; among Berry's most collected later fiction. Confirm the first printing by the number line ending in 1 together with the magenta-board/green-spine binding. No major book-club edition concern; the trade first is identified by the complete number line ending in 1, and the paperback (ISBN 1-58243-160-6) is a separate later issue.
• Hannah Coulter — 2004 · Shoemaker & HoardShoemaker & Hoard (Washington, D.C.) first edition, first printing, 2004, ISBN 1-59376-036-1 (9781593760366), octavo, about 190 pages; recorded as Freedman A125b in the Berry bibliography. The first printing is identified by a complete number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page. Bound in yellow paper over boards with a contrasting brown paper spine and gilt spine lettering, in a dust jacket lettered in…. True first US edition of the novel, Berry's seventh novel and his first narrated in a woman's voice, published by Shoemaker & Hoard in 2004. Confirm the first printing by the number line beginning with 1. No significant book-club edition concern for the first printing; the later Counterpoint paperback reissue is a reprint. Confirm the first printing by the number line beginning with 1.

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