Is My Butcher's Crossing a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first: The Macmillan Company, New York, 1960; collation [vi], [2], 3-239 pp
• First printing is so stated on the copyright page
• Bound in original half crimson/red cloth over grey paper-covered boards, stamped in silver (Bauman describes the same binding as 'red and gray cloth')
• The first-state pictorial dust jacket is by Gilbert Etheredge and shows a buffalo and crossed guns; the price is present at the front flap on the first issue
• Dealers note that jacket corners are frequently found clipped on copies issued from the publisher, so corner-clipping alone should not be read as a later state — verify against the copyright-page statement, which is the controlling point

How The Macmillan Company, New York marked a first edition

• FIRM SPLIT FIRST — this is the master rule. 'Macmillan' is not one publisher. The London parent was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan; George Edward Brett opened the New York office in 1869; in 1896 the f…
• Macmillan of Canada (Toronto, 1905–2002): the standard reference verdict is that this firm DOES NOT DESIGNATE first editions and provides no marks distinguishing printings. Do not assume a Canadian Macmillan first becaus…

Full The Macmillan Company, New York first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED. The census asserted the US Macmillan 1960 is 'the only first that matters'; this overlooks a genuine British edition. Victor Gollancz, London, published Butcher's Crossing in 1960 as the first English edition, and it is separately collected. Both should be named: Macmillan (New York, 1960) is the accepted true first; Gollancz (London, 1960) is the first English edition. Month-level precedence between the two same-year editions could not be established from the sources consulted, so the US priority should be stated as the accepted convention rather than as a documented date precedence. The 2007 NYRB Classics reissue is 'first thus' only and carries no first-edition standing, as the census correctly noted.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club tells for the 1960 Macmillan printing were documented in the sources consulted. The reliable discriminator remains the copyright-page first-printing statement together with the Etheredge first-state jacket; later NYRB Classics and Vintage Classics printings are trade reissues under their own imprints and are not confusable with the 1960 sheets.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Butcher's Crossing a first edition?

A first edition of Butcher's Crossing by John Williams (The Macmillan Company, New York) is identified by: True first: The Macmillan Company, New York, 1960; collation [vi], [2], 3-239 pp.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. CENSUS CLAIM CORRECTED.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club tells for the 1960 Macmillan printing were documented in the sources consulted. The reliable discriminator remains the copyright-page first-printing statement together with the Etheredge first-state jacket; later NYRB Classics and Vintage Classics printings are trade reissues under their own imprints and are not confusable with the 1960 sheets.

I have a first edition of Butcher's Crossing — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.