# Is "Maud Martha" by Gwendolyn Brooks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper & Brothers, 1953) is identified by: By Harper's house practice the first printing carries 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the Harper letter date code for 1953 (year letter 'C'; an October 1953 book reads 'K-C') — the exact code was not confirmed on an inspected specimen in this pass. US-only true first: Harper & Brothers (New York), 1953 — Gwendolyn Brooks's only novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- By Harper's house practice the first printing carries 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the Harper letter date code for 1953 (year letter 'C'; an October 1953 book reads 'K-C') — the exact code was not confirmed on an inspected specimen in this pass
- It collates x + 180 + [1–2] pp.; dealers describe the binding as yellow paper-covered boards over a green cloth spine (variously stated as green cloth with yellow boards) lettered in russet/crimson
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gwendolyn Brooks |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | By Harper's house practice the first printing carries 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the Harper letter date code for 1953 (year… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
By Harper's house practice the first printing carries 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with the Harper letter date code for 1953 (year letter 'C'; an October 1953 book reads 'K-C') — the exact code was not confirmed on an inspected specimen in this pass. It collates x + 180 + [1–2] pp.; dealers describe the binding as yellow paper-covered boards over a green cloth spine (variously stated as green cloth with yellow boards) lettered in russet/crimson.

## Is this the true first?
US-only true first: Harper & Brothers (New York), 1953 — Gwendolyn Brooks's only novel. There was no contemporaneous UK edition and no competing first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of the 1953 first is documented; later reissues (Third World Press, academic and Faber reprints) are separate later editions, not the Harper first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Maud Martha* by Gwendolyn Brooks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/maud-martha
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.