# Is "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Random House, 1966) is identified by: First trade printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page (it does NOT read 'First Edition'). US Random House is the true first: the trade first is the open-market true first, and the 500-copy signed limited is the apex deluxe issue.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page (it does NOT read 'First Edition')
- The first-issue dust jacket is priced at the top of the front flap with a '1/66' date code at the foot of the flap; the wraparound photographic jacket (hatpin motif) is designed by S. Neil Fujita
- Published by Random House, January 17, 1966 (copyright 1965)
- A signed limited edition of 500 numbered copies was issued concurrently — specially bound (black cloth, title gilt-over-red on the spine, initials gilt-over-red on the front cover, red-stained top edge, yellow endpapers), signed by Capote, in an acetate jacket and maroon cloth slipcase
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Truman Capote |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page (it does NOT read 'First Edition') |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First trade printing states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page (it does NOT read 'First Edition'). The first-issue dust jacket is priced at the top of the front flap with a '1/66' date code at the foot of the flap; the wraparound photographic jacket (hatpin motif) is designed by S. Neil Fujita. Published by Random House, January 17, 1966 (copyright 1965). A signed limited edition of 500 numbered copies was issued concurrently — specially bound (black cloth, title gilt-over-red on the spine, initials gilt-over-red on the front cover, red-stained top edge, yellow endpapers), signed by Capote, in an acetate jacket and maroon cloth slipcase.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House is the true first: the trade first is the open-market true first, and the 500-copy signed limited is the apex deluxe issue. The UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, 1966) follows the US.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Book-of-the-Month Club issue is the classic trap: it ALSO states 'FIRST PRINTING' on the copyright page, so that statement does NOT distinguish it from the trade first. Identify the BOMC copy by the small blind/debossed square or circle on the rear board near the foot of the spine, and by the unpriced book-club jacket (no printed price and no '1/66' date code; the flap notes a Book-of-the-Month Club selection). The book-club boards are otherwise the same cloth as the trade issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In Cold Blood* by Truman Capote a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-cold-blood
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.