# Is "Shadows on the Rock" by Willa Cather a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1931) is identified by: First trade edition bound in green cloth with paper spine and front labels and a red topstain; the Knopf Borzoi device appears at the rear. True US first; the US Knopf edition precedes the UK Cassell edition of 1932.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade edition bound in green cloth with paper spine and front labels and a red topstain; the Knopf Borzoi device appears at the rear
- Cather bibliography reference Crane A17.a
- A separate signed limited issue precedes the trade: 619 copies on Croxley hand-made paper in marbled boards with leather spine label, plus a smaller deluxe issue of 199 copies on Japan vellum, all signed by Cather
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Willa Cather |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf, New York |
| Year | 1931 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First trade edition bound in green cloth with paper spine and front labels and a red topstain; the Knopf Borzoi device appears at the rear |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First trade edition bound in green cloth with paper spine and front labels and a red topstain; the Knopf Borzoi device appears at the rear. Cather bibliography reference Crane A17.a. A separate signed limited issue precedes the trade: 619 copies on Croxley hand-made paper in marbled boards with leather spine label, plus a smaller deluxe issue of 199 copies on Japan vellum, all signed by Cather.

## Is this the true first?
True US first; the US Knopf edition precedes the UK Cassell edition of 1932. The signed limited issues (619-copy Croxley and 199-copy vellum) are the deluxe forms and precede the trade printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition for the first. Later printings add impression notices.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Shadows on the Rock* by Willa Cather a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/shadows-on-the-rock
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.