Is My Ishi in Two Worlds a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: University of California Press, Berkeley (and Los Angeles), 1961; subtitled "A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America," with a foreword by Lewis Gannett
• The decisive point is NEGATIVE and this title is a notorious trap: UC Press retained the 1961 title-page date across dozens of printings and stated each subsequent printing on the copyright page — recorded examples read "Second Printing, November, 1961" and "Fifteenth Printing, 1973." A first printing is therefore a copy whose copyright page carries the 1961 Regents of the University of California copyright and NO printing line at all
• Dealers routinely and correctly list later copies as "1961 First Edition, 23rd Printing" or "Printing 30"; the 1961 date alone proves nothing
• The binding (tan/beige/cream cloth lettered and decorated in brick red, with repeating Yahi-motif endpapers) is constant across early printings and is NOT a printing point
• On a jacketed copy an unclipped jacket with the price present at the flap is consistent with an early issue but does not by itself establish the first printing
• No first-state text errors are documented in the sources consulted

How University of California Press marked a first edition

• Modern UC Press titles use a number line on the copyright page; '1' present = first printing.

Full University of California Press 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?

Census claim confirmed. US university-press first; University of California Press, 1961 — Berkeley and Los Angeles on the original imprint. No separately set British first is documented in the sources consulted; UC Press's own later printings add a London line to the imprint, which is the Press's British office address, not a distinct UK edition. Distinct work, not an edition of this book: Kroeber's 1964 children's retelling "Ishi, Last of His Tribe" (Parnassus Press, illustrated by Ruth Robbins) — a different book, frequently conflated with this one in listings.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue documented. Reprint tells: any printing line on the copyright page; the presence of an ISBN (0-520-00675-5), which postdates the 1961 first and so rules it out on sight; and the paperback and 50th Anniversary Edition (2011, with added material by Karl Kroeber) — "first thus" or later at best.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Ishi in Two Worlds a first edition?

A first edition of Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber (University of California Press) is identified by: First printing: University of California Press, Berkeley (and Los Angeles), 1961; subtitled "A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America," with a foreword by Lewis Gannett.

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. Census claim confirmed.

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

No book-club issue documented. Reprint tells: any printing line on the copyright page; the presence of an ISBN (0-520-00675-5), which postdates the 1961 first and so rules it out on sight; and the paperback and 50th Anniversary Edition (2011, with added material by Karl Kroeber) — "first thus" or later at best.

I have a first edition of Ishi in Two Worlds — 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.