Is My Collected Stories of William Faulkner a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing states FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page
• It is bound in gray cloth with gilt lettering to the spine and a blue top stain; the title page carries blue (with black) printing over the title
• A distinctive first-issue point is the word "The" appearing on the book's spine above "Collected Stories of William Faulkner" — this reads as an error, since "The" does not appear on the jacket spine
• The back board of a true trade first has no blind stamp or dimple
• The jacket should be present with the price at the upper corner of the front flap (priced jacket / price present at the flap)
• Thick octavo of roughly 900 pages; cited as Petersen A26a

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House, 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?

The US edition (Random House, New York, 1950) is the true first; it won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1951. The first English edition followed from Chatto & Windus, London, in 1951, bound in blue cloth; it is a legitimate first English edition collected separately but has no claim on precedence.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies are well documented and are distinguished by several tells taken together: a small blind stamp or dimple impressed at a corner of the back board; the word "The" omitted from the spine; no blue top stain; a title page lacking the blue highlighting over the title; and a thinner, lower-grade cloth than the trade binding. A stated FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page alone does not clear a copy — book-club printings can carry over the statement, so the blind stamp and the spine/top-stain points must be checked.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Collected Stories of William Faulkner a first edition?

A first edition of Collected Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner (Random House, New York) is identified by: Census claim confirmed.

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. The US edition (Random House, New York, 1950) is the true first; it won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1951.

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

Book-club copies are well documented and are distinguished by several tells taken together: a small blind stamp or dimple impressed at a corner of the back board; the word "The" omitted from the spine; no blue top stain; a title page lacking the blue highlighting over the title; and a thinner, lower-grade cloth than the trade binding. A stated FIRST PRINTING on the copyright page alone does not clear a copy — book-club printings can carry over the statement, so the blind stamp and the spine/top-

I have a first edition of Collected Stories of William Faulkner — 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.