# Is "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Gnome Press, 1951) is identified by: Dark blue cloth, red lettering on spine. Gnome Press is the true first of the entire trilogy (Foundation 1951, Foundation and Empire 1952, Second Foundation 1953).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Dark blue cloth, red lettering on spine
- First-state dust jacket with its printed price with NO mention of the later Foundation sequels; rear panel lists Gnome Press titles only (no 'Foundation and Empire' or 'Second Foundation')
- Front flap has the famous misprint 'Hari Seldon.' Gnome address 80 East 11th Street, N.Y
- Publisher imprint reads Gnome Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Isaac Asimov |
| Publisher | Gnome Press |
| Year | 1951 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Dark blue cloth, red lettering on spine |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Dark blue cloth, red lettering on spine. First-state dust jacket with its printed price with NO mention of the later Foundation sequels; rear panel lists Gnome Press titles only (no 'Foundation and Empire' or 'Second Foundation'). Front flap has the famous misprint 'Hari Seldon.' Gnome address 80 East 11th Street, N.Y.

## Is this the true first?
Gnome Press is the true first of the entire trilogy (Foundation 1951, Foundation and Empire 1952, Second Foundation 1953). No prior magazine appearance counts as a 'book' first; stories were fixed up from Astounding. Later-state jackets describe the sequels on the rear flap — these are still first printing sheets but second-state jackets, worth less than the true first-state jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
There was no contemporaneous US book-club edition of the Gnome printing; the danger is later-state jackets and the much later Doubleday omnibus. A jacket mentioning the sequels = second state. Doubleday reprints are clearly later publisher.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Foundation* by Isaac Asimov a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/foundation
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.