# Is "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon a First Edition?

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

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Pynchon |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Viking Press (March 1973) is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Viking Press (March 1973) is the true first; the UK Jonathan Cape edition (1973) is later. 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Gravity's Rainbow* by Thomas Pynchon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/gravitys-rainbow
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.