# Is "East Wind: West Wind" by Pearl S. Buck a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of East Wind: West Wind by Pearl S. Buck (The John Day Company, 1930) is identified by: The true first is The John Day Company, New York, 1930 — Pearl Buck's first book. US John Day 1930 is the true first (Buck's first book); the UK Methuen edition (1931) follows and is not the first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is The John Day Company, New York, 1930 — Pearl Buck's first book
- John Day's 1930s practice is to place NO edition/printing statement on the first printing while explicitly designating every later printing, so a first is identified by the ABSENCE of any printing statement (only the 1930 date), and reprints are stated ("Second Printing," and observed as far as "Sixth Printing")
- The first printing is reported bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and a gilt design at the lower corner of the front board, 277 pp
- (binding rests on a single dealer description; no first-issue dust-jacket points could be independently confirmed)
- Publisher imprint reads The John Day Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Pearl S. Buck |
| Publisher | The John Day Company |
| Year | 1930 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is The John Day Company, New York, 1930 — Pearl Buck's first book |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is The John Day Company, New York, 1930 — Pearl Buck's first book. John Day's 1930s practice is to place NO edition/printing statement on the first printing while explicitly designating every later printing, so a first is identified by the ABSENCE of any printing statement (only the 1930 date), and reprints are stated ("Second Printing," and observed as far as "Sixth Printing"). The first printing is reported bound in blue cloth with gilt spine lettering and a gilt design at the lower corner of the front board, 277 pp. (binding rests on a single dealer description; no first-issue dust-jacket points could be independently confirmed).

## Is this the true first?
US John Day 1930 is the true first (Buck's first book); the UK Methuen edition (1931) follows and is not the first. US precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Any copy carrying a stated printing ("Second/Third/…Printing") is a later John Day printing, not the first. Later Grosset & Dunlap and reprint-house editions exist; the Methuen UK issue (1931) is the English follower. No dedicated first-printing jacket point verified.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *East Wind: West Wind* by Pearl S. Buck a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/east-wind-west-wind
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.