# Is "Fair Land, Fair Land" by A. B. Guthrie Jr. a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Fair Land, Fair Land by A. B. Guthrie Jr. (Houghton Mifflin, 1982) is identified by: Independent dealers who handle the book catalog the first as "First Edition. US-only first: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1982 — the census claim is correct, and no UK edition precedes it in the records consulted.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Independent dealers who handle the book catalog the first as "First Edition
- First Printing," Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1982 (ISBN 0-395-32511-0)
- By 1982 Houghton Mifflin's documented practice was a descending number line on the copyright page whose lowest digit is 1 on first printings — the number row having replaced the older "First printing" statement in the early 1970s, and typically including a manufacturer code — and the firm also placed the date in Arabic numerals on the title page of first printings, removing it on later ones
- Collation is octavo (about 23.5 cm), 262 pages, with map-illustrated endpapers; the binding is a light green cloth spine over oatmeal/tan paper-covered boards, titled in black on the spine
- The jacket bears a painting by Arthur Shilstone and, unclipped, carries the price at the flap
- CAVEAT: no source consulted reproduces this title's copyright page directly, so the number line is inferred from documented house practice rather than observed on the book
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | A. B. Guthrie Jr. |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1982 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Independent dealers who handle the book catalog the first as "First Edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Independent dealers who handle the book catalog the first as "First Edition. First Printing," Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1982 (ISBN 0-395-32511-0). By 1982 Houghton Mifflin's documented practice was a descending number line on the copyright page whose lowest digit is 1 on first printings — the number row having replaced the older "First printing" statement in the early 1970s, and typically including a manufacturer code — and the firm also placed the date in Arabic numerals on the title page of first printings, removing it on later ones. Collation is octavo (about 23.5 cm), 262 pages, with map-illustrated endpapers; the binding is a light green cloth spine over oatmeal/tan paper-covered boards, titled in black on the spine. The jacket bears a painting by Arthur Shilstone and, unclipped, carries the price at the flap. CAVEAT: no source consulted reproduces this title's copyright page directly, so the number line is inferred from documented house practice rather than observed on the book.

## Is this the true first?
US-only first: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1982 — the census claim is correct, and no UK edition precedes it in the records consulted. Written in English, so no original-language precedence question arises. The census description holds: this is a late bridge volume of the Big Sky sequence, carrying Dick Summers forward from The Big Sky (1947) and The Way West (1949) in internal chronology although written and published more than three decades later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is documented in the sources consulted. Signed copies exist but are author-inscribed trade first printings — Guthrie's inked signature on the dedication page — and not a signed limited issue, so a signature is not an edition point. Later reissues that are "first thus" rather than firsts include a subsequent edition under ISBN 0-89621-417-6 and the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Big Sky reissue under ISBN 0-544-31047-0. One outlying dealer describes yellow panels with a gold cloth spine and brown lettering, which contradicts the two corroborating binding descriptions; treat such a copy with suspicion pending direct comparison.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Fair Land, Fair Land* by A. B. Guthrie Jr. a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/fair-land-fair-land
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.