The points of issue
Brown cloth (cloth-backed boards), gilt-lettered spine; first-issue dust jacket with price present. The first printing carries NO printing statement on the copyright page; later printings add a printing/number statement.
Is this the true first?
US Farrar, Straus and Giroux true first. Full title: Encounters with the Archdruid: Narratives About a Conservationist and Three of His Natural Enemies. Material first appeared in The New Yorker.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Identify the first by ABSENCE of any later-printing statement on the copyright page, not by a stated 'first printing.' A book-club issue lacks the dust-jacket price and is typically smaller/blind-stamped.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Encounters with the Archdruid a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Brown cloth (cloth-backed boards), gilt-lettered spine; first-issue dust jacket with price present. The first printing carries NO printing statement on the copyright page; later printings add a printing/number statement.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US Farrar, Straus and Giroux true first. Full title: Encounters with the Archdruid: Narratives About a Conservationist and Three of His Natural Enemies. Material first appeared in The New Yorker.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Identify the first by ABSENCE of any later-printing statement on the copyright page, not by a stated 'first printing.' A book-club issue lacks the dust-jacket price and is typically smaller/blind-stamped.
I have a first edition of Encounters with the Archdruid — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.