Is My Copy of Six-Guns and Saddle Leather a First Edition?

The points of issue

• University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1954 — full title "Six-Guns and Saddle Leather: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on Western Outlaws and Gunmen." LCCN 54-5939
• Collates xiii, 426 pp (some copies collated xiii, 426, [2]); approximately 1,132 annotated entries
• 17 facsimile illustrations of title pages
• The copyright page carries a stated "First edition"
• Oklahoma used no number line in this period, so a later printing would be identified by an added printing statement rather than by a line
• Bound in green cloth (described by dealers as green linen buckram) stamped in gilt, with a darker green spine label/panel

How University of Oklahoma Press, Norman marked a first edition

• Copyright page typically prints a sequence of edition/printing/year codes. Older Chicago books show two date rows: a row of EDITION years and a row of IMPRESSION/printing years; the earliest impression year present…
• Statement of printing: e.g., 'Published 19xx' / 'First Edition' on first printings; 'Second Impression,' 'Third Impression' for later runs.

Full University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 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?

This is a US-only first — no UK or foreign-language edition precedes it, so there is no precedence question. The 1969 "New Edition, Revised and Greatly Enlarged" (University of Oklahoma Press, Norman; xxv, 808 pp; 2,491 entries — more than twice the first; LCCN 69-16729) is a different edition, not a later printing of the 1954, and is collected separately as the working reference; a dealer describing a 1969 or later copy as a "first edition" means first thus. Both the 1954 and the 1969 are legitimately collected, and a complete Adams shelf holds both.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented. Reprint tells, all of the 1969 revision rather than the 1954 first: the John T. Zubal, Inc. (Cleveland) 1982 reprint (xxv, 808 pp; ISBN 0-939738-06-6), catalogued by dealers as "first edition thus"; and the 1998 Dover Publications paperback (Mineola, N.Y.; xxiii, 808 pp; ISBN 0-486-40035-2; LCCN 97-49974), whose title-page verso states it is an unabridged republication of the 1969 Oklahoma edition. Any copy collating 808 pp, and any copy in wrappers, is not the 1954 first.P-043321

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Six-Guns and Saddle Leather a first edition?

A first edition of Six-Guns and Saddle Leather by Ramon F. Adams (University of Oklahoma Press, Norman) is identified by: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1954 — full title "Six-Guns and Saddle Leather: A Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on Western Outlaws and Gunmen." LCCN 54-5939.

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). This is a US-only first — no UK or foreign-language edition precedes it, so there is no precedence question.

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

No book-club edition documented. Reprint tells, all of the 1969 revision rather than the 1954 first: the John T. Zubal, Inc. (Cleveland) 1982 reprint (xxv, 808 pp; ISBN 0-939738-06-6), catalogued by dealers as "first edition thus"; and the 1998 Dover Publications paperback (Mineola, N.Y.; xxiii, 808 pp; ISBN 0-486-40035-2; LCCN 97-49974), whose title-page verso states it is an unabridged republication of the 1969 Oklahoma edition.

I have a first edition of Six-Guns and Saddle Leather — 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.