# Is "Juneteenth" by Ralph Ellison a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison (Random House, New York, 1999) is identified by: First printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition" with Random House's full number line ending in 2 ("...9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2") — as called for by the house, the line ends in 2 and not 1. US Random House (New York, June 1999) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition" with Random House's full number line ending in 2 ("...9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2") — as called for by the house, the line ends in 2 and not 1
- Binding is green boards with a black spine lettered in gilt/gold foil, the board blind-stamped "RE" for the author's initials; octavo, xxiii + 368 pp
- Book design by Mercedes Everett, jacket design by Robbin Schiff; jacket carries the price at the flap (unclipped) and a Toni Morrison blurb to the front flap
- A large-format uncorrected proof in printed wrappers precedes the trade issue and is separately collected
- Publisher imprint reads Random House, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ralph Ellison |
| Publisher | Random House, New York |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition" with Random House's full number line ending in 2 ("...9 8 7 6 5 4… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition" with Random House's full number line ending in 2 ("...9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2") — as called for by the house, the line ends in 2 and not 1. Binding is green boards with a black spine lettered in gilt/gold foil, the board blind-stamped "RE" for the author's initials; octavo, xxiii + 368 pp. Book design by Mercedes Everett, jacket design by Robbin Schiff; jacket carries the price at the flap (unclipped) and a Toni Morrison blurb to the front flap. A large-format uncorrected proof in printed wrappers precedes the trade issue and is separately collected.

## Is this the true first?
US Random House (New York, June 1999) is the true first. The census note naming Hutchinson as the British publisher is INCORRECT and is corrected here: the first British edition was published by Hamish Hamilton (London), 368 pp., in December 1999, ISBN 0-241-14084-6 — some months after the American edition. The US issue is the true first and the one collected; the Hamish Hamilton is the UK first, and both may be named where both are wanted. Ellison died in 1994; this is a posthumous novel assembled and edited from his manuscripts by his literary executor John F. Callahan, so there is no author-supervised earlier state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprint tell (Random House convention): later printings drop the "First Edition" statement while retaining the number line, so a number line with no "First Edition" statement above it indicates a later printing. First-thus traps: the Vintage International paperback (ISBN 9780375707544) is a later edition, and the 2021 Random House "Juneteenth (Revised)" (ISBN 9780593314616 / 9780593242100) carries a revised text and is emphatically not a first. No book-club edition documented.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Juneteenth* by Ralph Ellison a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/juneteenth
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.