# Is "Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures)" by Patrick Modiano a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures) by Patrick Modiano (Éditions Gallimard, collection Blanche, 1978) is identified by: The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp. The true first edition is the 1978 French Rue des boutiques obscures (Éditions Gallimard, Paris, collection Blanche, 5 September 1978) — Modiano's sixth novel and winner of the 1978 Prix Goncourt (awarded 20 November 1978), which anchors its status as his most-collected title and his best-known novel in English.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp
- (dealer collations cite 213–214), in the plain cream Gallimard wrappers with the red-and-black rule frame
- ISBNs were not yet used in France in 1978, so no ISBN belongs to the true first — the ISBN shown on the current Gallimard catalogue page is a modern Blanche reissue, not a first-edition point
- As is standard for the Blanche collection, ordinary trade copies carry NO "première édition" statement; the first printing is identified by the 1978 achevé d'imprimer and the ABSENCE of any later reprint date on the justification leaf
- The premier tirage (grand papier / tirage de tête) is the collector's ideal: 35 numbered copies on vélin d'Arches (Arjomari-Prioux), the only large-paper issue
- Genuine first-issue trade copies are frequently "service de presse" (press) copies; the most desirable bear Modiano's autograph inscription (envoi)
- Publisher imprint reads Éditions Gallimard, collection Blanche

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Patrick Modiano |
| Publisher | Éditions Gallimard, collection Blanche |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the Gallimard "Blanche" trade paperback (broché) issued 5 September 1978: in-8°, 14 x 20.5 cm, 214 pp. (dealer collations cite 213–214), in the plain cream Gallimard wrappers with the red-and-black rule frame. ISBNs were not yet used in France in 1978, so no ISBN belongs to the true first — the ISBN shown on the current Gallimard catalogue page is a modern Blanche reissue, not a first-edition point. As is standard for the Blanche collection, ordinary trade copies carry NO "première édition" statement; the first printing is identified by the 1978 achevé d'imprimer and the ABSENCE of any later reprint date on the justification leaf. The premier tirage (grand papier / tirage de tête) is the collector's ideal: 35 numbered copies on vélin d'Arches (Arjomari-Prioux), the only large-paper issue. Genuine first-issue trade copies are frequently "service de presse" (press) copies; the most desirable bear Modiano's autograph inscription (envoi).

## Is this the true first?
The true first edition is the 1978 French Rue des boutiques obscures (Éditions Gallimard, Paris, collection Blanche, 5 September 1978) — Modiano's sixth novel and winner of the 1978 Prix Goncourt (awarded 20 November 1978), which anchors its status as his most-collected title and his best-known novel in English. The first English-language edition is Missing Person, translated by Daniel Weissbort, published by Jonathan Cape (London) in 1980 (ISBN 0224017896). The first US edition did not appear until 2004, from David R. Godine / Verba Mundi (Boston), reusing Weissbort's 1980 translation (ISBN 1567922813).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition governs this title in the way that trips up US-market collectors. The traps are Gallimard-specific: (1) later printings of the Blanche edition are near-identical to the first except for an added later achevé d'imprimer / reprint date on the justification leaf — always check that leaf; (2) the ubiquitous Collection Folio pocket paperback (Folio no. 1358, from 1982) and the later "L'Imaginaire" reissue are cheap reprints, not firsts; (3) a "service de presse" (SP) copy is a genuine first-printing press copy and is desirable, not a lesser state; (4) on the English side, the 2004 Godine "Verba Mundi" paperback is a modern reprint of the 1980 Cape translation, not a first English edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Missing Person (Rue des boutiques obscures)* by Patrick Modiano a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/missing-person
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.