Is My Picnic a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Issued as "A Random House Play" in publisher's gray cloth, lettered in gilt and black, with a mounted (paste-on) photographic illustration on the front board; illustrated with black-and-white photographs from the original Broadway production
• Random House house practice for 1936-1975 is that the first printing carries a stated first-edition line on the copyright page and that the line is simply dropped on subsequent printings — there is no number line in this period, so a 1953-dated copy bearing no printing statement at all is a later printing, not a first
• Priced jacket / price present at the flap on unclipped copies
• Note: the exact copyright-page wording on Picnic was not seen directly in the sources consulted; the statement's presence-or-absence rule is drawn from two independent publisher-identification guides, while the publisher, year, binding and mounted-photo board are corroborated by multiple independent dealer catalogues

How Random House, New York marked a first edition

• Stated-edition era (c.1936–1975): trade first printings are plainly marked with the words 'First Edition' (or, on some earlier titles, 'First Printing') on the copyright page, with NO number line yet in use; a copyright…
• Divisional practice — share the STATEMENT, not the '2'-line: sister divisions state 'First Edition' as their firsts (Alfred A. Knopf consistently since 1933–34; Pantheon since 1964), so the words work across the family.…

Full Random House, New York 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?

US true first: Random House, New York, 1953 — the census claim is confirmed. Inge wrote in English for the American stage and no earlier or simultaneous UK or original-language edition was located; the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award both attach to this 1953 publication. First-thus trap: the Dramatists Play Service acting edition (ISBN 082220892X) is a later separate publication in wrappers and is not the first edition despite carrying the same title and text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue of Picnic is documented in the sources consulted; the identification rule here is the printing statement plus the gray cloth with mounted front-board photograph, not a club tell. Absence of a documented club edition is a limit of the sources reviewed, not a positive finding that none exists.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Picnic a first edition?

A first edition of Picnic by William Inge (Random House, New York) is identified by: Issued as "A Random House Play" in publisher's gray cloth, lettered in gilt and black, with a mounted (paste-on) photographic illustration on the front board; illustrated with black-and-white photographs from the original Broadway production.

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). US true first: Random House, New York, 1953 — the census claim is confirmed.

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

No book-club issue of Picnic is documented in the sources consulted; the identification rule here is the printing statement plus the gray cloth with mounted front-board photograph, not a club tell. Absence of a documented club edition is a limit of the sources reviewed, not a positive finding that none exists.

I have a first edition of Picnic — 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.