The points of issue
Dos Passos's first book. The true first is the London Allen & Unwin edition, published October 1920, in blue cloth. The text was bowdlerized, with passages cut or blanked for the censors (later restored in the 1969 Cornell University Press edition set from uncorrected proofs).
Is this the true first?
UK precedes US. The first American edition was published by George H. Doran Company, New York, in June 1922 (a separate first American printing, not the true first). The 1945 Philosophical Library edition retitled First Encounter is a later reprint with a new author introduction.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club. Do not mistake the 1922 Doran American edition or the 1945 First Encounter reprint for the true first; only the 1920 London Allen & Unwin edition is the first.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of One Man's Initiation: 1917 a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Dos Passos's first book. The true first is the London Allen & Unwin edition, published October 1920, in blue cloth. The text was bowdlerized, with passages cut or blanked for the censors (later restored in the 1969 Cornell University Press edition set from uncorrected proofs).
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. UK precedes US. The first American edition was published by George H. Doran Company, New York, in June 1922 (a separate first American printing, not the true first). The 1945 Philosophical Library edition retitled First Encounter is a later reprint with a new author introduction.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
No book club. Do not mistake the 1922 Doran American edition or the 1945 First Encounter reprint for the true first; only the 1920 London Allen & Unwin edition is the first.
I have a first edition of One Man's Initiation: 1917 — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.