# Is "Gate of Ivrel" by C.J. Cherryh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Gate of Ivrel by C.J. Cherryh (DAW Books, 1976) is identified by: DAW Books paperback original, catalog number UY1226, DAW Collectors No. The US DAW paperback original (1976) is the true first; there was no prior hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- DAW Books paperback original, catalog number UY1226, DAW Collectors No
- 188, with wraparound Michael Whelan cover art
- The first printing is identified by the DAW catalog number and the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line; a first-issue copy retains the printed cover price at the upper corner of the front wrap
- Cherryh's debut novel and Morgaine volume 1, carrying an introduction by Andre Norton
- Publisher imprint reads DAW Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.J. Cherryh |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | DAW Books paperback original, catalog number UY1226, DAW Collectors No |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
DAW Books paperback original, catalog number UY1226, DAW Collectors No. 188, with wraparound Michael Whelan cover art. The first printing is identified by the DAW catalog number and the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line; a first-issue copy retains the printed cover price at the upper corner of the front wrap. Cherryh's debut novel and Morgaine volume 1, carrying an introduction by Andre Norton.

## Is this the true first?
The US DAW paperback original (1976) is the true first; there was no prior hardcover. The first hardcover appearance came in 1979 in the Nelson Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club omnibus The Book of Morgaine.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None for the paperback; the later Book of Morgaine hardcover is itself a book-club omnibus and does not precede the DAW paperback.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Gate of Ivrel* by C.J. Cherryh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/gate-of-ivrel
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.