# Is "Close to Home" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Close to Home by Erskine Caldwell (Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1962) is identified by: First printing carries the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy imprint on the title page and shows no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; any wording indicating a second or subsequent printing rules out the first. US first edition, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1962, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing carries the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy imprint on the title page and shows no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; any wording indicating a second or subsequent printing rules out the first
- The identification rests on that absence rather than on a stated-edition line, which this early-1960s Farrar, Straus and Cudahy title does not carry
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Cudahy |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing carries the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy imprint on the title page and shows no statement of a later printing on the copyright… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing carries the Farrar, Straus and Cudahy imprint on the title page and shows no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; any wording indicating a second or subsequent printing rules out the first. The identification rests on that absence rather than on a stated-edition line, which this early-1960s Farrar, Straus and Cudahy title does not carry.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, New York, 1962, is the true first. A Heinemann edition (London, Melbourne and Toronto) also appeared in 1962; both are 1962 firsts in their respective markets, with the New York issue standing as the primary first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings exist; identify the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page. A first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price at the flap corner; price presence or absence does not by itself establish edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Close to Home* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/close-to-home
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.