Is My Catherine Carmier a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — this is the primary and decisive point, and it accords with documented Atheneum practice for the period: Atheneum stated first edition on the copyright page and did not adopt a number row until the mid-1980s, so no number line should be present on a 1964 first
• The book is an octavo, [vi], 248 pp., quarter-bound in cloth over green paper-covered boards, the spine lettered in gilt, the front cover stamped in blind, with the top edge stained red; the jacket was designed by H. Lawrence Hoffman, with the title set in Craw Clarendon and the author's name in Century Expanded italic, and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
• Caution on one commonly cited point: dealers describe the spine cloth variously as blue, grey, and brown, so spine-cloth colour is not a reliable diagnostic and should not be used to reject a copy that is otherwise correct — the copyright-page statement governs

How Atheneum marked a first edition

• Rule for the number-line era: the lowest number present indicates the printing, so a first printing must still show a 1 in the row. If the 1 (and any lower digits) have dropped off and the line begins at 2 or higher, it…
• Transitional caution: near the changeover a book may carry BOTH a 'First Edition' statement and a number row. When both are present, treat the terminal-1 number row as governing, because a printed 'First Edition' line ca…

Full Atheneum 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

US Atheneum (New York), 1964, is the true first and the only contemporaneous edition; no British edition of Gaines's first book was traced in the sources consulted. This is Gaines's first book — the first Gaines 'A' item — and a rewrite of the manuscript he wrote at seventeen and destroyed after rejection. Later Vintage/North Point paperback issues are 'first thus' reprints, not firsts.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of Catherine Carmier is documented in the sources consulted. Because the first printing is identified by an explicit copyright-page statement rather than a number line, any copy lacking the 'First Edition' statement is a later printing or a reprint regardless of the date on the title page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Catherine Carmier a first edition?

A first edition of Catherine Carmier by Ernest J. Gaines (Atheneum) is identified by: The first printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page — this is the primary and decisive point, and it accords with documented Atheneum practice for the period: Atheneum stated first edition on the copyright page and did not adopt a number row until the mid-1980s, so no number line should be present on a 1964 first.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US Atheneum (New York), 1964, is the true first and the only contemporaneous edition; no British edition of Gaines's first book was traced in the sources consulted.

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

No book-club issue of Catherine Carmier is documented in the sources consulted. Because the first printing is identified by an explicit copyright-page statement rather than a number line, any copy lacking the 'First Edition' statement is a later printing or a reprint regardless of the date on the title page.

I have a first edition of Catherine Carmier — 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.