Is My Lonesome Dove a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing: the copyright page carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ending in 1
• Black boards with blue cloth spine, title stamped in gilt
• The first-issue dust jacket bears NO mention of the Pulitzer Prize (the novel won the 1986 Pulitzer, so any Pulitzer reference on the jacket = later printing/state) and is a priced, unclipped jacket with the printed price present at the flap
• The p.621 (line 16) text reading 'none' for 'done' exists in the first printing but persists into later printings — documented through at least the 25th — so it is NOT a reliable first-printing point; rely on the number line and the no-Pulitzer jacket

How Simon & Schuster marked a first edition

• ERA 3 — Number-line introduction (mid-1973–1980): S&S adopted a copyright-page number line. Read the lowest number present: a line whose lowest digit is 1 is a first printing (e.g. '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' or the descendin…
• ERA 4 — The signature non-sequential line (1981–present): S&S's hallmark line is the scrambled sequence '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2'. The rule is presence-of-lowest-number, NOT last-digit: if 1 is present (as the lowest number…

Full Simon & Schuster 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 Simon & Schuster (New York), 1985, is the true first. The decisive points are the full number line including the '1' and the absence of any Pulitzer notice on the jacket. Signed first printings are notably scarce.P-036965

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The Book-of-the-Month Club printing is near-identical to the trade first and is the single most common 'mistaken first' for this title. The decisive tell is the copyright page: the trade first carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, which the club printing lacks (book clubs of the 1980s dropped the number line to save ink). The club jacket is also unpriced, whereas the trade first is priced at the flap. Do NOT rely on a rear-board blind stamp — it is inconsistent on copies of this era; use the number line and the priced jacket as the primary tests.P-036966

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Lonesome Dove a first edition?

A first edition of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Simon & Schuster) is identified by: First printing: the copyright page carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ending in 1.

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 Simon & Schuster (New York), 1985, is the true first.

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

The Book-of-the-Month Club printing is near-identical to the trade first and is the single most common 'mistaken first' for this title. The decisive tell is the copyright page: the trade first carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, which the club printing lacks (book clubs of the 1980s dropped the number line to save ink). The club jacket is also unpriced, whereas the trade first is priced at the flap. Do NOT rely on a rear-board blind stamp — it is inconsistent on copies of this era

I have a first edition of Lonesome Dove — 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.