# Is "My Ántonia" by Willa Cather a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of My Ántonia by Willa Cather (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1918) is identified by: First printing comprised 3,500 copies. True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1919.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing comprised 3,500 copies
- The key first-state point concerns the W. T. Benda illustrations: in the first state they are printed on coated/glossy paper (about 2,500 copies)
- Cather objected to the glossy stock and the remaining copies were printed on the uncoated text paper
- First state therefore has the Benda plates on coated paper
- Date present on the title leaf
- Riverside Press production
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Willa Cather |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston |
| Year | 1918 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing comprised 3,500 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing comprised 3,500 copies. The key first-state point concerns the W. T. Benda illustrations: in the first state they are printed on coated/glossy paper (about 2,500 copies); Cather objected to the glossy stock and the remaining copies were printed on the uncoated text paper. First state therefore has the Benda plates on coated paper. Date present on the title leaf; Riverside Press production. First-issue dust jacket present.

## Is this the true first?
True US first; precedes the UK Heinemann edition of 1919.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club issue. The distinction is the paper stock of the Benda illustrations (coated first state vs. uncoated later state), not the number or placement of illustrations.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *My Ántonia* by Willa Cather a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/my-ntonia
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.