Is My Flowering Judas and Other Stories a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the 1930 Harcourt, Brace issue, a signed limited edition of 600 numbered copies, containing six stories ('Maria Concepcion,' 'Magic,' 'Rope,' 'He,' 'The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,' and the title story)
• Gray paper-covered boards with brown cloth backstrip, gilt spine titling
• Identify it by the limitation leaf stating one of 600 copies, signed by Porter
• Porter's first book
• Note the 1930 title was simply 'Flowering Judas'; 'and Other Stories' belongs to the enlarged edition

How Harcourt, Brace & Company marked a first edition

• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Harcourt, Brace & Company first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The 1930 Harcourt limited (600 numbered copies, all signed) is the true first edition. The 1935 Harcourt enlarged edition adds four stories ('Theft,' 'That Tree,' 'The Cracked Looking-Glass,' 'Hacienda') for a ten-story collection titled 'Flowering Judas and Other Stories' and is first-thus, not the true first. A later Modern Library issue (1940) is a separate reprint.P-017617

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The 1930 issue is a signed numbered limited with no book-club state. Do not confuse the more common 1935 enlarged Harcourt trade edition, or the still later Modern Library reprint, with the scarce 1930 limited first.P-017618

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Flowering Judas and Other Stories a first edition?

A first edition of Flowering Judas and Other Stories by Katherine Anne Porter (Harcourt, Brace & Company) is identified by: The true first is the 1930 Harcourt, Brace issue, a signed limited edition of 600 numbered copies, containing six stories ('Maria Concepcion,' 'Magic,' 'Rope,' 'He,' 'The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,' and the title story).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The 1930 Harcourt limited (600 numbered copies, all signed) is the true first edition.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The 1930 issue is a signed numbered limited with no book-club state. Do not confuse the more common 1935 enlarged Harcourt trade edition, or the still later Modern Library reprint, with the scarce 1930 limited first.

I have a first edition of Flowering Judas and Other Stories — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.