Is My In Watermelon Sugar a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition published by Four Seasons Foundation, San Francisco, 1968, as 'Writing 21' in their Writing series
• Trade issue in pictorial stiff wraps; a simultaneous signed limited edition of 50 copies was bound in blue cloth-backed boards
• Later printings are noted on the copyright page

How Four Seasons Foundation marked a first edition

• Do NOT expect a stated 'First Edition' / 'First Published' line or a number line: Four Seasons Foundation, Donald Allen's small poetry press, used no uniform printing-statement or number-line convention. Identification i…
• Primary first-issue tell (unpriced wrappers): the true first printing of a Writing-series booklet was issued in stapled or perfect-bound wrappers with NO printed price on the rear cover. A price printed or stamped on the…

Full Four Seasons Foundation 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. 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.
5. 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?

True first is the 1968 Four Seasons Foundation issue. The trade form is the pictorial softcover; a small signed cloth-backed limited of 50 copies appeared at the same time. The Delacorte/Delta issue of 1969 is a reprint.P-025745

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

None; Delta/Delacorte are reprints.P-025746

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of In Watermelon Sugar a first edition?

A first edition of In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan (Four Seasons Foundation) is identified by: First edition published by Four Seasons Foundation, San Francisco, 1968, as 'Writing 21' in their Writing series.

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. True first is the 1968 Four Seasons Foundation issue.

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

None; Delta/Delacorte are reprints.

I have a first edition of In Watermelon Sugar — 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.