# Is "Sam Holman" by James T. Farrell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sam Holman by James T. Farrell (Prometheus Books, 1983) is identified by: First printing carries the 1983 Prometheus Books copyright with no statement of a later printing; posthumous novel (ISBN 0-87975-202-5). US first edition; published posthumously (Farrell died in 1979).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing carries the 1983 Prometheus Books copyright with no statement of a later printing; posthumous novel (ISBN 0-87975-202-5)
- No distinctive published point of issue is documented in reliable sources
- Publisher imprint reads Prometheus Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James T. Farrell |
| Publisher | Prometheus Books |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing carries the 1983 Prometheus Books copyright with no statement of a later printing; posthumous novel (ISBN 0-87975-202-5) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing carries the 1983 Prometheus Books copyright with no statement of a later printing; posthumous novel (ISBN 0-87975-202-5). No distinctive published point of issue is documented in reliable sources.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition; published posthumously (Farrell died in 1979).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is recorded; identify the first printing by the unannotated 1983 copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sam Holman* by James T. Farrell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sam-holman
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.