The points of issue
Copyright page dated 1991 with 'First Edition' stated; issued in both softcover and hardcover. Cover shows the mouse couple beneath a guard tower with a cat motif. The hardcover features grey paper-covered boards over a black cloth spine, lettered in white.
Is this the true first?
US Pantheon 1991 is the true first. Completes the work that received a 1992 Special Pulitzer (Special Award in Letters). A clean stated-first hardcover in jacket is the collecting target.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later subsumed into 'The Complete Maus' (1996); that omnibus is not the first of Vol. II. Verify the 1991 date and the stated 'First Edition.'
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Maus II: A Survivor's Tale — And Here My Troubles Began a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Copyright page dated 1991 with 'First Edition' stated; issued in both softcover and hardcover. Cover shows the mouse couple beneath a guard tower with a cat motif. The hardcover features grey paper-covered boards over a black cloth spine, lettered in white.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. US Pantheon 1991 is the true first. Completes the work that received a 1992 Special Pulitzer (Special Award in Letters). A clean stated-first hardcover in jacket is the collecting target.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later subsumed into 'The Complete Maus' (1996); that omnibus is not the first of Vol. II. Verify the 1991 date and the stated 'First Edition.'
I have a first edition of Maus II: A Survivor's Tale — And Here My Troubles Began — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.