Is My Gravity's Rainbow a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Viking Press (March 1973) is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition
• Viking issued the book simultaneously in two first-issue formats, and the copyright page of both reads 'First published in 1973 in a hardbound and paperbound edition by The Viking Press,' with NO statement of a later printing
• HARDCOVER (about 4,000 copies): orange cloth, spine lettered in red, the rainbow blind-stamped on the front board, top edge orange
• SBN 670-34832-5 printed in white on the rear panel of the jacket; the dust jacket carries its printed price at the upper front flap and the code '0273' at the foot of the front flap
• PAPERBACK (about 16,000 copies): a Viking Compass edition (Compass no
• C 374 at the head of the spine), the printed price at the top-right of the front cover, a legitimate simultaneous first in wrappers, NOT 'A Richard Seaver Book.' The hardcover in its priced jacket is the format collectors prefer

How Viking Press marked a first edition

• Earliest era (1925 to roughly 1937): Viking used no first-edition statement and instead noted later printings; treat the absence of any later-printing notice, with the title-page/copyright dates matching, as the first.
• From about 1937 onward: first printings state "First published by The Viking Press in [year]" or "Published by The Viking Press in [year]" with no later-printing notice; later printings were noted, and from the 1980s a n…

Full Viking Press 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. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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.
5. 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?

US Viking 1973 is the true first; the hardcover is the primary collector's first, issued simultaneously with the trade-paperback original (Viking Compass C 374), with the UK Jonathan Cape edition following. The Pulitzer fiction jury unanimously recommended this book, but the Pulitzer board overruled them and no Prize for Fiction was awarded for 1974.P-037359

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Book-club copies are the trap. The Book-of-the-Month Club hardcover and the Quality Paperback Book Club issue carry NO printed price anywhere and lack the '0273' flap code. The BOMC jacket is coated but not laminated (less glossy; the orange rubs more readily), and its cloud photograph across the title-page opening shows a fine half-tone dot pattern absent from the true first; some club boards bear a blind stamp near the foot of the rear board. The trade paperback is a legitimate first state, not a reprint; Bantam mass-market printings are later.P-037360

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Gravity's Rainbow a first edition?

A first edition of Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (Viking Press) is identified by: US Viking Press (March 1973) is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition (1973) is later.

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. US Viking 1973 is the true first; the hardcover is the primary collector's first, issued simultaneously with the trade-paperback original (Viking Compass C 374), with the UK Jonathan Cape edition following.

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

Book-club copies are the trap. The Book-of-the-Month Club hardcover and the Quality Paperback Book Club issue carry NO printed price anywhere and lack the '0273' flap code. The BOMC jacket is coated but not laminated (less glossy; the orange rubs more readily), and its cloud photograph across the title-page opening shows a fine half-tone dot pattern absent from the true first; some club boards bear a blind stamp near the foot of the rear board. The trade paperback is a legitimate first state, no

I have a first edition of Gravity's Rainbow — 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.