# Is "Coyote Waits" by Tony Hillerman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman (Harper & Row, New York, 1990) is identified by: Harper & Row, New York, 1990; ISBN 0-06-016370-4; tenth Leaphorn/Chee novel. The census claim is confirmed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harper & Row, New York, 1990
- ISBN 0-06-016370-4; tenth Leaphorn/Chee novel
- The copyright leaf ([vi]) states "FIRST EDITION" above Harper's code line "90 91 92 93 94 CC/HC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"; multiple specialist dealers require the complete line "to 1" for a first printing
- CAUTION: the University of New Mexico's Tony Hillerman Portal transcribes its catalogued copy with the code line ending at "2" while the leaf still reads "FIRST EDITION" — so on this title the statement alone is not decisive; read the lowest digit of the line
- Hardback 24 x 16.3 cm, collating [i-x] 1-292 [293-294]. Bound in orange boards with a maroon cloth spine, a southwestern geometric symbol embossed on the front board, and author, title and publisher printed vertically in gold on the spine (dealers variously describe the boards as tan or gold and the spine cloth as brown, so allow for shade description drift)
- Jacket by Peter Thorpe depicting a Yeii figure with a fire blazing inside a geometric background; jacket should be unclipped with the price at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tony Hillerman |
| Publisher | Harper & Row, New York |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harper & Row, New York, 1990 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Harper & Row, New York, 1990; ISBN 0-06-016370-4; tenth Leaphorn/Chee novel. The copyright leaf ([vi]) states "FIRST EDITION" above Harper's code line "90 91 92 93 94 CC/HC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"; multiple specialist dealers require the complete line "to 1" for a first printing. CAUTION: the University of New Mexico's Tony Hillerman Portal transcribes its catalogued copy with the code line ending at "2" while the leaf still reads "FIRST EDITION" — so on this title the statement alone is not decisive; read the lowest digit of the line. Hardback 24 x 16.3 cm, collating [i-x] 1-292 [293-294]. Bound in orange boards with a maroon cloth spine, a southwestern geometric symbol embossed on the front board, and author, title and publisher printed vertically in gold on the spine (dealers variously describe the boards as tan or gold and the spine cloth as brown, so allow for shade description drift). Jacket by Peter Thorpe depicting a Yeii figure with a fire blazing inside a geometric background; jacket should be unclipped with the price at the front flap. Book designed by Alma Hochauser Orenstein.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed. Harper & Row, New York, 1990, is the true first; the UK first (Michael Joseph, London, 1991; ISBN 0-7181-3377-3) followed a year later, so US precedence is unambiguous. As with Talking God, a publisher's limited issue of the first edition is collected alongside the trade and should be named: ISBN 0-06-026370-4 (note the different ISBN from the trade), with a limitation leaf at [i] reading "Of the first edition of Coyote Waits five hundred copies have been specially bound and slipcased. Each copy is signed and numbered by the author," bound in tan boards with a royal-blue cloth spine and gilt spine lettering, in a Peter Thorpe-designed slipcase (volcanic mountain wreathed in flames against a night sky). Its copyright leaf reads "FIRST EDITION" without the trade code line, so absence of the line on that issue is correct, not a fault.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No title-specific book-club issue was confirmed in the sources consulted; general period tells apply — no price at the jacket flap or "Book Club Edition" printed at the front flap, reduced trim and lighter bulk, a blind stamp or dot on the rear board, and no Harper "FIRST EDITION" line. Separately, do not confuse the trade first with the other 1990 Harper issues catalogued by the UNM Hillerman Portal — the Large Print issue and the "Special First Edition with Illustrations" — or with later HarperCollins reprints (e.g. ISBN 978-0-06-180837-1).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Coyote Waits* by Tony Hillerman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/coyote-waits
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.