Is My Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing is identified by the Random House number line 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 on the copyright page, recorded by Zempel & Verkler (First Editions: A Guide to Identification) and consistent with documented Random House house practice for 1970-2002: the 'First Edition' statement appears on the copyright page and is removed on later printings, and Random House number lines of this era never contain a 1, with the lowest number present indicating the printing
• Binding: quarter red cloth over orange paper boards, the front board lettered in blind, the spine lettered in silver, with tan endpapers and pastedowns
• Collates [9], viii, [2], 3-48, [4] pp
• The dust jacket was designed by Janet Halverson and should be unclipped with the price present at the front flap

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Classic paradox era (c.1970–2002/03) — THE famous Random House rule: a true first printing states 'First Edition' AND carries a number line whose lowest digit is 2 — the line ENDS (or begins) in 2 and NEVER reaches 1, e.…

Full Random House, New York 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. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
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?

US only. New York: Random House, 1971 — Angelou's first poetry collection and a Pulitzer Prize nominee. No British first edition of the collection is recorded. First thus traps: the Bantam mass-market paperback, and The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House, 1994), which resets the text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented for this title. The realistic confusion is later Random House printings still dated 1971 — dealers catalogue copies as 'first edition, third printing' and similar — so read the number line rather than the title-page date. A copy lacking the 'First Edition' statement is a later printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie a first edition?

A first edition of Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie by Maya Angelou (Random House, New York) is identified by: First printing is identified by the Random House number line 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 on the copyright page, recorded by Zempel & Verkler (First Editions: A Guide to Identification) and consistent with documented Random House house practice for 1970-2002: the 'First Edition' statement appears on the copyright page and is removed on later printings, and Random House number lines of this era never contain a 1, with the lowest number present indicating the printing.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US only.

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

No book-club edition documented for this title. The realistic confusion is later Random House printings still dated 1971 — dealers catalogue copies as 'first edition, third printing' and similar — so read the number line rather than the title-page date. A copy lacking the 'First Edition' statement is a later printing.

I have a first edition of Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie — 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.