Is My Pale Horse, Pale Rider a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First American trade edition, Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1939
• Octavo in sage green cloth, titles stamped in black on spine and front cover, yellow top stain; gathers three short novels (Old Mortality, Noon Wine, and the title novel Pale Horse, Pale Rider); 'first edition' stated on the copyright page; first-issue dust jacket with the original printed flap price
• Author-inscribed and presentation copies exist but are individual associations, not a formally designated issue

How Harcourt, Brace & Company marked a first edition

• 1919-1921 (Harcourt, Brace & Howe): number '1' on copyright page = first printing, '2' = second, etc.
• 1921-1931: no statement on first printings; the first-edition notice (when later adopted) was simply absent, so rely on no later-printing notice.

Full Harcourt, Brace & Company 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. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
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?

The US Harcourt, Brace edition is the true first; the UK Cape edition of 1939 follows. The previously claimed signed limited issue of 175 copies could not be confirmed in any reliable source and has been removed; only ordinary inscribed copies are documented.P-017622

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The trade first carries the stated 'first edition' and the priced first-issue jacket. Later printings and reprint editions (including Modern Library) lack the original priced jacket; book-club style copies typically drop the flap price and may bear a blind-stamp.P-017623

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Pale Horse, Pale Rider a first edition?

A first edition of Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter (Harcourt, Brace & Company) is identified by: First American trade edition, Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1939.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The US Harcourt, Brace edition is the true first; the UK Cape edition of 1939 follows.

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

The trade first carries the stated 'first edition' and the priced first-issue jacket. Later printings and reprint editions (including Modern Library) lack the original priced jacket; book-club style copies typically drop the flap price and may bear a blind-stamp.

I have a first edition of Pale Horse, Pale Rider — 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.