Is My Play It As It Lays a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, published 13 July 1970
• The copyright page states 'First printing, 1970' — this statement is the reliable test, consistent with FSG house practice of the period
• Collation [viii], 214 pages, octavo
• Bound in publisher's original orange cloth decorated in blind over a black cloth spine lettered in gilt
• Jacket designed by Janet Halverson: a snake pointing its forked tongue at a gradient sun on the front panel, lettered in black, with a photograph of Didion by Julian Wasser on the rear panel
• Priced jacket, price present at the front flap; an unclipped jacket is preferred but the flap price is not itself the point of issue

How Farrar, Straus and Giroux marked a first edition

• ERA 1 - Farrar, Straus and Company (founding, c.1945/46-1950): No number line and no consistent 'First Edition' statement. Identify a first printing by the stylized interlocked 'FS' publisher's device on the copyright pa…
• ERA 3 - Farrar, Straus and Cudahy (1953-1963): Imprint line reads 'Farrar, Straus and Cudahy' after the 1953 Pellegrini & Cudahy merger. First printings state 'First Printing (year)' or 'First Published (year)' on the co…

Full Farrar, Straus and Giroux 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 census claim is confirmed. The US Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1970 edition is the true first. The first UK edition is Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1971, preceded by the American issue by roughly a year; the UK edition is collected separately but has no precedence claim. Didion's second novel, following Run, River (1963).

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

A book club issue of this title exists and is offered by dealers as such, but the specific distinguishing tells were not documented in any source reached during this pass. The dependable test remains the copyright page: a copy lacking the 'First printing, 1970' statement is not the trade first. Do not rely on undocumented club tells for this title until they are confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Play It As It Lays a first edition?

A first edition of Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, published 13 July 1970.

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 census claim is confirmed.

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

A book club issue of this title exists and is offered by dealers as such, but the specific distinguishing tells were not documented in any source reached during this pass. The dependable test remains the copyright page: a copy lacking the 'First printing, 1970' statement is not the trade first. Do not rely on undocumented club tells for this title until they are confirmed.

I have a first edition of Play It As It Lays — 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.