The points of issue
First printing, with no statement of later printing on the copyright page. Civil-rights-era reportage in which Caldwell searches the South for a Black boyhood friend.
Is this the true first?
US first edition (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1965).
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings exist; identify the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of In Search of Bisco a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: First printing, with no statement of later printing on the copyright page. Civil-rights-era reportage in which Caldwell searches the South for a Black boyhood friend.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US first edition (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1965).
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later printings exist; identify the true first by the absence of any later-printing statement.
I have a first edition of In Search of Bisco — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.