# Is "Happy Land" by MacKinlay Kantor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Happy Land by MacKinlay Kantor (Coward-McCann, 1943) is identified by: First book edition in publisher's cloth (commonly maroon cloth with gilt spine lettering), Coward-McCann imprint on the title page. The Coward-McCann book is the first edition in book form.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book edition in publisher's cloth (commonly maroon cloth with gilt spine lettering), Coward-McCann imprint on the title page
- A short World War II home-front story
- Note that the work first appeared as a magazine serial before book publication
- Publisher imprint reads Coward-McCann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Publisher | Coward-McCann |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book edition in publisher's cloth (commonly maroon cloth with gilt spine lettering), Coward-McCann imprint on the title page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First book edition in publisher's cloth (commonly maroon cloth with gilt spine lettering), Coward-McCann imprint on the title page. A short World War II home-front story. Note that the work first appeared as a magazine serial before book publication.

## Is this the true first?
The Coward-McCann book is the first edition in book form. The text first appeared earlier in serial form in the Saturday Evening Post; a small author's gift issue of about 1,250 copies was also produced around this publication, so first-printing identification on this title can be unusually nuanced.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprints exist. Because of the author's gift issue and the prior serial appearance, the magazine serial and the gift issue should not be conflated with the standard trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Happy Land* by MacKinlay Kantor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/happy-land
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.