Is My North to the Rails a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Bantam paperback original, first printing 1971, issued directly into mass-market wrappers
• No hardcover precedes it
• Saturday Review Press did not begin issuing L'Amour in hardcover until a few years later
• A Chantry-family western, this first printing is identified by the 1971 Bantam catalog number and the original printed cover price rather than by a copyright-page number line, since Bantam mass-market originals of this era carry no printer's key

How Bantam Books marked a first edition

• Bantam used a code on the copyright page indicating printing and date in some eras; in the modern era a descending number line ending in '1' marks the first printing.
• Mass-market originals: the paperback is the first edition; reprints of hardcovers are firsts-thus only.

Full Bantam Books first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

True first is the US Bantam paperback original of 1971; no earlier hardcover exists. Encyclopedic and library records consistently list Bantam, New York, 1971 as the original publisher.P-019919

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Not applicable to a paperback original; there is no book-club edition to distinguish. Separate the first printing from later Bantam reprints by the original catalog number and cover price.P-019920

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of North to the Rails a first edition?

A first edition of North to the Rails by Louis L'Amour (Bantam Books) is identified by: Bantam paperback original, first printing 1971, issued directly into mass-market wrappers.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). True first is the US Bantam paperback original of 1971; no earlier hardcover exists.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Not applicable to a paperback original; there is no book-club edition to distinguish. Separate the first printing from later Bantam reprints by the original catalog number and cover price.

I have a first edition of North to the Rails — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.