# Is "Deep South: Memory and Observation" by Erskine Caldwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Deep South: Memory and Observation by Erskine Caldwell (Weybright and Talley, 1968) is identified by: First US edition, Weybright and Talley, New York, 1968; nonfiction on Southern Protestantism, 257 pages, in cloth with dust jacket. First complete edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, Weybright and Talley, New York, 1968; nonfiction on Southern Protestantism, 257 pages, in cloth with dust jacket
- The jacket should carry its printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Weybright and Talley
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Erskine Caldwell |
| Publisher | Weybright and Talley |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, Weybright and Talley, New York, 1968; nonfiction on Southern Protestantism, 257 pages, in cloth with dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First US edition, Weybright and Talley, New York, 1968; nonfiction on Southern Protestantism, 257 pages, in cloth with dust jacket. The jacket should carry its printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
First complete edition. Part one had earlier appeared in England, in 1966, under the title In the Shadow of the Steeple; the 1968 Weybright and Talley printing is the first US and first complete edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A 1995 University of Georgia Press reissue and other later editions (including a New American Library/Signet paperback) are not the first. Confirm the 1968 Weybright and Talley imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Deep South: Memory and Observation* by Erskine Caldwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/deep-south-memory-and-observation
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.