# Is "Cuckoo's Egg" by C.J. Cherryh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Cuckoo's Egg by C.J. Cherryh (Phantasia Press, 1985) is identified by: Phantasia Press hardcover, a single print run of about 2,400 copies bound in cloth with gilt spine titling and issued in a dust jacket bearing cover art by Randall Asplund. US Phantasia Press hardcover (1985) is the true first; the DAW paperback followed later in 1985.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Phantasia Press hardcover, a single print run of about 2,400 copies bound in cloth with gilt spine titling and issued in a dust jacket bearing cover art by Randall Asplund
- The first 350 copies are the signed/numbered deluxe issue: numbered and signed by Cherryh on a rear limitation page and housed in a publisher's slipcase; the remaining copies form the unnumbered trade issue in jacket without slipcase
- Publisher imprint reads Phantasia Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.J. Cherryh |
| Publisher | Phantasia Press |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Phantasia Press hardcover, a single print run of about 2,400 copies bound in cloth with gilt spine titling and issued in a dust jacket… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Phantasia Press hardcover, a single print run of about 2,400 copies bound in cloth with gilt spine titling and issued in a dust jacket bearing cover art by Randall Asplund. The first 350 copies are the signed/numbered deluxe issue: numbered and signed by Cherryh on a rear limitation page and housed in a publisher's slipcase; the remaining copies form the unnumbered trade issue in jacket without slipcase.

## Is this the true first?
US Phantasia Press hardcover (1985) is the true first; the DAW paperback followed later in 1985. Presence of a numbered, signed rear limitation page (numbered within 350) plus slipcase distinguishes the deluxe issue from the trade issue, which lacks the limitation and slipcase.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A later book-club hardcover exists; it lacks the Phantasia limitation page, colophon and Asplund-jacketed slipcase and is smaller and cheaply bound. It should not be confused with the Phantasia first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Cuckoo's Egg* by C.J. Cherryh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/cuckoos-egg
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.