# Is "First Blood" by David Morrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of First Blood by David Morrell (M. Evans and Company, 1972) is identified by: Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the spine lettered in metallic red and orange, with a blue top-stain. US M.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The M. Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the spine lettered in metallic red and orange, with a blue top-stain
- The title page reads M. Evans and Company, New York, with the line "distributed in association with J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia" — the correct reading for the 1972 issue
- The copyright page of the first printing carries no notice of a later printing; dealer descriptions of the M. Evans issue are not unanimous as to whether a number line is present, so identify by the binding above together with the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line alone
- The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped)
- An advance uncorrected proof precedes the trade issue, bound in tall greenish-blue printed wrappers lettered in black
- Publisher imprint reads M. Evans and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Morrell |
| Publisher | M. Evans and Company |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The M. Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The M. Evans first printing is an octavo of 252 pages, bound in publisher's boards with gray paper sides and a black cloth backstrip, the spine lettered in metallic red and orange, with a blue top-stain. The title page reads M. Evans and Company, New York, with the line "distributed in association with J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia" — the correct reading for the 1972 issue. The copyright page of the first printing carries no notice of a later printing; dealer descriptions of the M. Evans issue are not unanimous as to whether a number line is present, so identify by the binding above together with the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line alone. The jacket should be priced at the front flap (price present, not clipped). An advance uncorrected proof precedes the trade issue, bound in tall greenish-blue printed wrappers lettered in black.

## Is this the true first?
US M. Evans (New York, 1972) is the true first, and the census claim is confirmed. Morrell's own complete bibliography lists "M. Evans and Co. (American hardback), 1972" ahead of "Barrie and Jenkins (British hardback), 1972." The two appeared in the same year and the UK Barrie & Jenkins issue is separately collected as the first British edition; its jacket, painted by Michael Codd, is unusual in carrying no title or author on the front panel, both appearing on the rear. Later hardback issues are first-thus traps, not firsts: New English Library (UK) 1989, Armchair Detective Library 1990 (trade plus numbered 1-100 and lettered A-Z limited states, with a new author's introduction), Headline 1992, and Gauntlet Press 2015.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
First Blood was a Literary Guild alternate selection in 1972 per Morrell's own bibliography, so a US book-club edition exists and copies turn up regularly. Club copies are identified in the usual way for the period — no price ever printed at the jacket flap and a blind-stamped device (small square or dot) on the rear board — and the club book is smaller and lighter in bulk than the trade book. No club-specific textual variant is documented.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *First Blood* by David Morrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/first-blood
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.