# Is "Oil Notes" by Rick Bass a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Oil Notes by Rick Bass (Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence, 1989) is identified by: Boston: Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence, 1989. The US Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence edition of 1989 is the American first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Boston: Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence, 1989
- First American edition, first printing of this memoir/journal, with drawings by Elizabeth Hughes, octavo, 172 pp; issued in cloth-backed boards with a dust jacket that should retain the printed price to the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rick Bass |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Boston: Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence, 1989 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Boston: Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence, 1989. First American edition, first printing of this memoir/journal, with drawings by Elizabeth Hughes, octavo, 172 pp; issued in cloth-backed boards with a dust jacket that should retain the printed price to the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence edition of 1989 is the American first. A UK edition was published the same year by Collins (London); the American issue is the first in its own market.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No major book-club edition concern; verify the Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence imprint and the retained jacket price to distinguish the American first from the simultaneous UK Collins issue and from the trade paperback.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Oil Notes* by Rick Bass a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/oil-notes
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.