# Is "North to the Rails" by Louis L'Amour a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of North to the Rails by Louis L'Amour (Bantam Books, 1971) is identified by: Bantam paperback original, first printing 1971, issued directly into mass-market wrappers. True first is the US Bantam paperback original of 1971; no earlier hardcover exists.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Louis L'Amour |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam paperback original, first printing 1971, issued directly into mass-market wrappers |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *North to the Rails* by Louis L'Amour a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/north-to-the-rails
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.