# Is "Mary Chesnut's Civil War" by C. Vann Woodward (editor) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mary Chesnut's Civil War by C. Vann Woodward (editor) (Yale University Press, 1981) is identified by: Cloth; Yale University Press (New Haven), 1981, with first-printing indicia on the copyright page and no later-printing statement. Yale University Press (New Haven) issued the true first in 1981.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Yale University Press (New Haven), 1981, with first-printing indicia on the copyright page and no later-printing statement
- The dust jacket is priced
- Later printings are so noted on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Yale University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C. Vann Woodward (editor) |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Yale University Press (New Haven), 1981, with first-printing indicia on the copyright page and no later-printing statement |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Cloth; Yale University Press (New Haven), 1981, with first-printing indicia on the copyright page and no later-printing statement. The dust jacket is priced. Later printings are so noted on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
Yale University Press (New Haven) issued the true first in 1981. Won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1982.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish the first printing from subsequent printings, which add a printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mary Chesnut's Civil War* by C. Vann Woodward (editor) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mary-chesnuts-civil-war
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.