# Is "Mayordomo signed first" by Stanley Crawford a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mayordomo signed first by Stanley Crawford (UNM Press, 1988) is identified by: The first edition is the University of New Mexico Press hardcover of 1988 (Mayordomo: Chronicle of an Acequia in Northern New Mexico, ISBN 0826314457 / 9780826314451), winner of the 1988 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. True first is the 1988 UNM Press hardcover, ISBN 0826314457, in dust jacket, identified by the stated 1988 copyright with no later-printing notation.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition is the University of New Mexico Press hardcover of 1988 (Mayordomo: Chronicle of an Acequia in Northern New Mexico, ISBN 0826314457 / 9780826314451), winner of the 1988 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction
- As with UNM Press titles of the period, there is no publisher's number line; the first printing is identified on the copyright page, which should carry the original 1988 copyright with no later-printing or new-edition statement
- The hardcover in its original priced dust jacket is the collector's first, and a signed copy is the desirable form here
- Publisher imprint reads UNM Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stanley Crawford |
| Publisher | UNM Press |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition is the University of New Mexico Press hardcover of 1988 (Mayordomo: Chronicle of an Acequia in Northern New Mexico, ISBN… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first edition is the University of New Mexico Press hardcover of 1988 (Mayordomo: Chronicle of an Acequia in Northern New Mexico, ISBN 0826314457 / 9780826314451), winner of the 1988 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction. As with UNM Press titles of the period, there is no publisher's number line; the first printing is identified on the copyright page, which should carry the original 1988 copyright with no later-printing or new-edition statement. The hardcover in its original priced dust jacket is the collector's first, and a signed copy is the desirable form here.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1988 UNM Press hardcover, ISBN 0826314457, in dust jacket, identified by the stated 1988 copyright with no later-printing notation.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition and are far less collectible. When a hardcover and a simultaneous paperback exist (standard from the mid-1970s), the hardcover in dust jacket is the collector's first. Use the points above to be certain — see book-club edition vs. first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mayordomo signed first* by Stanley Crawford a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mayordomo-signed-first
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.