Is My Copy of 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…

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. 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.P-041961

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.

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. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.