Is My Great Plains a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The copyright page of the first printing reads "First edition, 1989" with no other printing indication — Farrar, Straus and Giroux's stated-first practice from 1965 onward was "First published (year)," "First printing (year)," or "First edition (year)" on the copyright page, with no number line on trade books of this period (FSG did not adopt a full number row until roughly 2002)
• Absence of a number line on a 1989 copy is therefore normal and is not a defect
• Later printings are also dated 1989 and are found described by dealers as second, third and fourth printings, so the printing statement must be read alongside the edition statement
• Physical points: octavo, 290 pp., quarter-bound in a cloth backstrip (described by dealers as brown to orange) over green paper boards with gilt spine lettering; pictorial map endpapers front and rear; black-and-white illustrations
• Jacket is pictorial, with the price present at the front flap on unclipped copies
• No first-state text errors are documented for this title

How Farrar, Straus and Giroux marked a first edition

• ERA 1 - Farrar, Straus and Company (founding, c.1945/46-1950): No number line and no consistent 'First Edition' statement. Identify a first printing by the stylized interlocked 'FS' publisher's device on the copyright pa…
• ERA 3 - Farrar, Straus and Cudahy (1953-1963): Imprint line reads 'Farrar, Straus and Cudahy' after the 1953 Pellegrini & Cudahy merger. First printings state 'First Printing (year)' or 'First Published (year)' on the co…

Full Farrar, Straus and Giroux first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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-only true first: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989. The UK Faber and Faber hardcover (London, 1990) and the Penguin UK paperback (1990) both follow the American edition and are secondary; the Granta Books issue (2006, with an introduction by Robert Macfarlane) and the Picador/St. Martin's US paperback (ISBN 0312278502) are "first thus" reprints, not firsts. Only the FSG 1989 hardcover is collected as the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No title-specific book-club points are documented. A large-print book-club printing dated 1989 is offered by dealers and is a reprint, not the first. Standard club tells apply: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed there instead), a blind stamp or colored deboss at the lower rear board near the spine, and smaller trim with lighter bulk than the trade volume.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Great Plains a first edition?

A first edition of Great Plains by Ian Frazier (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) is identified by: The copyright page of the first printing reads "First edition, 1989" with no other printing indication — Farrar, Straus and Giroux's stated-first practice from 1965 onward was "First published (year)," "First printing (year)," or "First edition (year)" on the copyright page, with no number line on trade books of this period (FSG did not adopt a full number row until roughly 2002).

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US-only true first: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989.

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

No title-specific book-club points are documented. A large-print book-club printing dated 1989 is offered by dealers and is a reprint, not the first. Standard club tells apply: no price at the jacket flap (often "Book Club Edition" printed there instead), a blind stamp or colored deboss at the lower rear board near the spine, and smaller trim with lighter bulk than the trade volume.

I have a first edition of Great Plains — 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.