Skip to main content

First-Edition Identification · William Gass

Is My In the Heart of the Heart of the Country a First Edition?

Harper & Row, 1968

The points of issue

Harper & Row, 1968. Yellow cloth with the publisher's device stamped in red on the front board, spine lettered in red and purple, yellow top-stain; orange endpapers. First-issue dust jacket priced 4.95 on the front flap. First printing shows no later-printing notation (Ahearn APG 002). Gass's second book and first story collection.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Harper & Row first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

The US Harper & Row printing is the true first. The expanded 1981 Godine edition is a 'first thus,' not the true first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

First printings carry no later-printing line; later printings or a book-club state alter or omit the first-printing indications. Treat the 1981 enlarged Godine edition separately as a 'first thus.'

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of In the Heart of the Heart of the Country a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: Harper & Row, 1968. Yellow cloth with the publisher's device stamped in red on the front board, spine lettered in red and purple, yellow top-stain; orange endpapers. First-issue dust jacket priced 4.95 on the front flap. First printing shows no later-printing notation (Ahearn APG 002). Gass's second book and first story collection.

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. The US Harper & Row printing is the true first. The expanded 1981 Godine edition is a 'first thus,' not the true first.

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

First printings carry no later-printing line; later printings or a book-club state alter or omit the first-printing indications. Treat the 1981 enlarged Godine edition separately as a 'first thus.'

I have a first edition of In the Heart of the Heart of the Country — 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.

Keep identifying