# Is "Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society)" by Toni Morrison a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society) by Toni Morrison (The Franklin Library, 1992) is identified by: Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Morrison on a bound-in limitation page. The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society series (issued 1983-2000) is genuinely hand-signed by the author on a separate limitation page bound into the book; this is NOT a facsimile signature.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Morrison on a bound-in limitation page
- Distinguish from the trade Knopf first, which is cloth, states 'First Trade Edition' on the copyright page, and carries a the printed price code with a Maya Angelou photo on the rear jacket panel
- Publisher imprint reads The Franklin Library
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Toni Morrison |
| Publisher | The Franklin Library |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Full brown morocco, gilt-decorated (trumpet motif on covers), three raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; issued as a Signed First Edition Society volume and hand-signed by Morrison on a bound-in limitation page. Distinguish from the trade Knopf first, which is cloth, states 'First Trade Edition' on the copyright page, and carries a the printed price code with a Maya Angelou photo on the rear jacket panel.

## Is this the true first?
The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society series (issued 1983-2000) is genuinely hand-signed by the author on a separate limitation page bound into the book; this is NOT a facsimile signature. The earlier Franklin Limited First Editions series (1976-1982) used facsimile signatures, but that does not apply here. The Knopf trade edition remains the standard textual first; the Franklin issue was a privately printed deluxe issued around the same time as a genuinely signed first thus.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club reprint. The leather Franklin Signed First Edition Society copy is genuinely hand-signed (not a facsimile), so it is correctly described as a signed deluxe issue rather than the textual precedence first; the Knopf trade printing is the standard collector's textual first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Jazz (Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society)* by Toni Morrison a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/jazz-franklin-library-signed-first-edition-society
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.