# Is "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997) is identified by: First printings state "First Edition" on the copyright page. The true first is the American edition: Alfred A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printings state "First Edition" on the copyright page
- Knopf removed that statement on later printings and substituted an explicit printing record — sixteenth-printing copies, for example, read "Published October 6, 1997 / Reprinted Fourteen Times / Sixteenth Printing, March 1998" — so the presence of the bare "First Edition" line with no printing history is the primary test
- The first-state dust jacket carries the review blurbs on the rear panel led by Ann Beattie at the top, followed by Pico Iyer, Julia Blackburn, Geraldine Brooks and Elinor Lipman; the jacket should be priced at the front flap
- Issued in hardcover, 434 pp., ISBN 0-375-40011-7
- Sources differ on the exact publication day — 23 September 1997 is widely cited while some copyright pages state "Published October 6, 1997" — but the 1997 year and the points above are consistent across the sources consulted
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur Golden |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, New York |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printings state "First Edition" on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printings state "First Edition" on the copyright page. Knopf removed that statement on later printings and substituted an explicit printing record — sixteenth-printing copies, for example, read "Published October 6, 1997 / Reprinted Fourteen Times / Sixteenth Printing, March 1998" — so the presence of the bare "First Edition" line with no printing history is the primary test. The first-state dust jacket carries the review blurbs on the rear panel led by Ann Beattie at the top, followed by Pico Iyer, Julia Blackburn, Geraldine Brooks and Elinor Lipman; the jacket should be priced at the front flap. Issued in hardcover, 434 pp., ISBN 0-375-40011-7. Sources differ on the exact publication day — 23 September 1997 is widely cited while some copyright pages state "Published October 6, 1997" — but the 1997 year and the points above are consistent across the sources consulted.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the American edition: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997 (ISBN 0-375-40011-7) — the census claim is confirmed. It precedes the first British edition, Chatto & Windus, London, 1997 (ISBN 0-7011-6674-6), which followed on 30 October 1997; even on the latest cited US date the Knopf issue has precedence. The Knopf printing is the edition collected as the first; the Chatto & Windus is collected as the first UK and both are gathered by completist collectors. Golden wrote in English, so no original-language question arises.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club tells are not specifically documented for this title in the sources consulted, and no BCE points should be asserted beyond what a copy in hand shows. The reliable reprint test is the copyright page itself: Knopf later printings carry an explicit printing statement in place of the "First Edition" line. A jacket lacking a price at the front flap should be treated as a caution rather than proof of club origin, since trade jackets are also commonly clipped.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Memoirs of a Geisha* by Arthur Golden a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/memoirs-of-a-geisha
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.