# Is "Night Rider" by Robert Penn Warren a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Night Rider by Robert Penn Warren (Houghton Mifflin, 1939) is identified by: True first is Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939 (Grimshaw A3.a1), Warren's first novel and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship; approximately 5,000 copies printed, [viii]+460 pages. US Houghton Mifflin (Boston) 1939 is the true first; the UK Eyre & Spottiswoode edition followed in 1940.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939 (Grimshaw A3.a1), Warren's first novel and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship; approximately 5,000 copies printed, [viii]+460 pages
- Houghton Mifflin firsts of this era are identified by the '1939' date on the title page (removed or altered on later printings) with the copyright page bearing no later-printing statement
- Cloth is stamped in red; the majority of reputable descriptions give the cloth as GREEN, though one reputable dealer (Peter Harrington) records grey (likely a faded/variant copy) — cloth colour is the single unsettled descriptive point, but it does not affect the edition identification
- Priced pictorial dust jacket, price present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Penn Warren |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1939 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939 (Grimshaw A3.a1), Warren's first novel and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939 (Grimshaw A3.a1), Warren's first novel and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship; approximately 5,000 copies printed, [viii]+460 pages. Houghton Mifflin firsts of this era are identified by the '1939' date on the title page (removed or altered on later printings) with the copyright page bearing no later-printing statement. Cloth is stamped in red; the majority of reputable descriptions give the cloth as GREEN, though one reputable dealer (Peter Harrington) records grey (likely a faded/variant copy) — cloth colour is the single unsettled descriptive point, but it does not affect the edition identification. Priced pictorial dust jacket, price present at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin (Boston) 1939 is the true first; the UK Eyre & Spottiswoode edition followed in 1940. Census precedence is correct.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A second American impression exists (cataloged Grimshaw A3.a2, 'first American edition, second impression') and is a reprint, not a first. The 1940 UK Eyre & Spottiswoode issue is a later edition, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Night Rider* by Robert Penn Warren a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/night-rider
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.