The points of issue
First-thus only: a Modern Library compilation (number 319) of previously published stories, with an author preface, red cloth, approximately 426 pages. The first Modern Library printing is dated by the dust-jacket spine title list and the jacket's catalogue listing rather than by any copyright-page printing statement.
Is this the true first?
Not a true first of any contained story; this is a first-thus Modern Library collection assembling earlier work.
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Modern Library printings are identified by changes to the dust-jacket spine number/title list, the standard Modern Library dating method.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Selected Short Stories of Irwin Shaw a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: First-thus only: a Modern Library compilation (number 319) of previously published stories, with an author preface, red cloth, approximately 426 pages. The first Modern Library printing is dated by the dust-jacket spine title list and the jacket's catalogue listing rather than by any copyright-page printing statement.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. Not a true first of any contained story; this is a first-thus Modern Library collection assembling earlier work.
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
Later Modern Library printings are identified by changes to the dust-jacket spine number/title list, the standard Modern Library dating method.
I have a first edition of Selected Short Stories of Irwin Shaw — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.