Is My Masked Gods a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first edition of Masked Gods: Navaho and Pueblo Ceremonialism is the University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1950 printing, 438 pages, illustrated and decorated by Ralph Douglass, professor of art at the University of New Mexico; a contemporary scholarly review in The Americas independently records the Albuquerque/UNM Press/1950/438pp collation
• The trade issue is tan cloth with black spine lettering and a black Hopi pottery design across the upper third of the front board, with endpapers adapted from an Acoma pottery cloud-and-rain design
• Identification runs on the IMPRINT, not on a printed statement: no source consulted confirms a copyright-page edition statement for this book, so verify the University of New Mexico Press / Albuquerque imprint on the title page and rule out the Sage/Swallow issue below rather than looking for a stated first
• A separate numbered issue of 300 copies also exists, distinguished by a limitation leaf signed by Frank Waters — dealers record copies numbered 31, 49, 183 and 228 of 300 — and it is that signed limitation page, not an inscription on the half-title, that identifies it
• Jacketed copies carry the price at the flap

How University of New Mexico Press marked a first edition

• Negative-evidence (no later-printing language) on pre-1970 titles

Full University of New Mexico Press 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

The census is right that the UNM Press 1950 printing is the true first, but "UNM Press 1950 only" understates the trap and is corrected here: a Sage Books / Swallow Press SECOND edition is also dated 1950 and is cataloged variously at Denver and at Chicago, so the year alone identifies nothing. Multiple ABAA and independent dealers list the Sage/Swallow book explicitly as the second edition. US-only, English-language original; no UK or foreign edition precedes it. Both the UNM Press trade issue and the signed, numbered limited issue of 300 are collected.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The dominant reprint tell is the Sage Books/Swallow Press issue bearing the same 1950 date — check the title-page imprint, because "1950" alone does not mean first. Later reissues that are "first thus" rather than firsts include Swallow Press printings (1970 and 1975), Ballantine and later University of New Mexico Press paperbacks (recorded circa 1962, 1972, 1973, 1984 and 1987), and the Swallow Press/Ohio University Press edition under ISBN 0-8040-0641-5. One dealer reports that the 300-copy limited issue was made up from original first-edition sheets recovered at the bindery after the book had been out of print for about eighteen months, but that account is single-sourced and is flagged here as unverified.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Masked Gods a first edition?

A first edition of Masked Gods by Frank Waters (University of New Mexico Press) is identified by: The first edition of Masked Gods: Navaho and Pueblo Ceremonialism is the University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1950 printing, 438 pages, illustrated and decorated by Ralph Douglass, professor of art at the University of New Mexico; a contemporary scholarly review in The Americas independently records the Albuquerque/UNM Press/1950/438pp collation.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The census is right that the UNM Press 1950 printing is the true first, but "UNM Press 1950 only" understates the trap and is corrected here: a Sage Books / Swallow Press SECOND edition is also dated 1950 and is cataloged variously at Denver and at Chicago, so the year alone identifies nothing.

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

The dominant reprint tell is the Sage Books/Swallow Press issue bearing the same 1950 date — check the title-page imprint, because "1950" alone does not mean first. Later reissues that are "first thus" rather than firsts include Swallow Press printings (1970 and 1975), Ballantine and later University of New Mexico Press paperbacks (recorded circa 1962, 1972, 1973, 1984 and 1987), and the Swallow Press/Ohio University Press edition under ISBN 0-8040-0641-5. One dealer reports that the 300-copy li

I have a first edition of Masked Gods — 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.