# Is "J R" by William Gaddis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of J R by William Gaddis (Alfred A. Knopf, 1975) is identified by: 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page; black cloth boards titled in gilt on the spine and in blind on the upper board, top edge stained rose/pink, fore-edge untrimmed; dust jacket carries the printed price. The US Knopf hardcover (1975) is the collected true first; J R won the 1976 National Book Award for Fiction.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page; black cloth boards titled in gilt on the spine and in blind on the upper board, top edge stained rose/pink, fore-edge untrimmed; dust jacket carries the printed price
- Issued simultaneously in hardcover and trade wrappers; the cloth first is scarce, with reportedly as few as about 2,000 hardcover copies
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Gaddis |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page; black cloth boards titled in gilt on the spine and in blind on the upper board, top edge… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
'First Edition' stated on the copyright page; black cloth boards titled in gilt on the spine and in blind on the upper board, top edge stained rose/pink, fore-edge untrimmed; dust jacket carries the printed price. Issued simultaneously in hardcover and trade wrappers; the cloth first is scarce, with reportedly as few as about 2,000 hardcover copies.

## Is this the true first?
The US Knopf hardcover (1975) is the collected true first; J R won the 1976 National Book Award for Fiction. A simultaneous paperbound trade issue exists, but the cloth hardcover is the preferred first state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No widely circulated book-club edition is recorded; beware later printings that drop the 'First Edition' statement or add printing numbers. The Easton Press leather binding is a much later reprint, not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *J R* by William Gaddis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/j-r
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.