Is My How to Win Friends and Influence People a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First published November 1936
• First-printing point: the 1936 date at the foot of the title page matches the 1936 copyright page date, and the copyright page carries no other dates and no reference to any additional printing or edition
• Later printings are stated there, and the book ran through many printings within months (seventeen printings in its first year), so the absence of a printing statement is decisive
• Collation: x, 337, [5] pp
• Bound in publisher's red cloth — described by some dealers as pinkish-red — stamped in gilt
• First-issue jacket points: the front flap reads "Chicago University" (not the later "The University of Chicago") and its paragraphs are set without bold face; the rear panel carries "12 THINGS THIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU" together with a Lowell Thomas testimonial and photograph; the price is present at the back flap, unclipped

How Simon and Schuster marked a first edition

• ERA 1 — Founding era (1924–1936): Identify by absence, not by a positive statement. A true first has NO printing or edition notice on the copyright page; later printings are the ones that carry information — a printing d…
• CROSS-CHECK across all number-line eras: A 1-bearing number line is frequently paired with a spelled-out first-issue statement (which may read 'First Printing' OR 'First Edition' — both occur at S&S). When a positive sta…

Full Simon and Schuster 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. 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.
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?

Confirms the census. Simon and Schuster, New York, November 1936 is the true first; US only, with no UK or original-language precedence question to name. The work was drafted as "How to Make Friends and Influence People" and retitled because "make" did not fit the cover design. The 1981 revised edition — which drops the "Letters That Produced Miraculous Results" and "Eight Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier" sections — is a different text and is not a first edition of the work.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 1936 first. The reprint field is enormous and the standard trap is a Simon and Schuster printing bearing the 1936 copyright date: copies stated as, for example, the ninetieth printing still show the 1936 copyright and are widely listed as 1936 firsts. Also common are Dale Carnegie Institute/association printings and post-1981 revised-edition reprints. Note that the reported first-printing quantity varies between sources (3,000 copies per several dealers; a smaller initial print order is reported elsewhere) and is in any case not an identification point — do not use it as one.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People a first edition?

A first edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Simon and Schuster) is identified by: First published November 1936.

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. Confirms the census.

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

No book-club issue is documented for the 1936 first. The reprint field is enormous and the standard trap is a Simon and Schuster printing bearing the 1936 copyright date: copies stated as, for example, the ninetieth printing still show the 1936 copyright and are widely listed as 1936 firsts. Also common are Dale Carnegie Institute/association printings and post-1981 revised-edition reprints. Note that the reported first-printing quantity varies between sources (3,000 copies per several dealers;

I have a first edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People — 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.